This area will never be fixed. DOT keeps hiring consultant engineering firms to do the planning for areas like 4042 and this is the crap they keep coming up with.
So you think you can do better? Here is what I would do, and I don't care if it makes all of the businesses mad, I would put a median down the middle of NC 42 from I-40 to 1010 with one break for u-turns, on the other side I would have made Wal-Mart and the people that are developing across the road, replace the bridge, and widen 42 to four lanes with a median all the way to the Bypass. The Bypass should have never been built without widening I-40 to 6 if not 8 lanes. Simple math here people, 2 four-lane roads do not combine to be a successful 4-lane road!
That's nice, too bad that all of the roads/ bridges that you drive on, and the building that you are sitting in at work was probably designed/ engineered by somebody from NCSU. Enjoy your french fries and Big Mac with your fellow UNC fans, and graduates....too bad that the sociology major from UNC can't operate the fry machine a little faster for you
In order for states to get federal funding for the Interstate system the roads are toll free. And before I get bashed for that. The first toll most of you will think of is the toll on I-95 in MD going over the Susquehanna River in Havre De Grace MD. Bridges that are not funded by the federal goverment but by local goverments are exempt to that law. That bridge was buiilt and paid for by MD. And the GWB (George Washington Bridge) (also where I-95 crosses) crossing over the Hudson river was also built by private funding of the states of NY and NJ (Pre interstate system). The unbuilt parts of I-540 are not covered by the interstate system. That's why they are pushing to make it a toll road. And if you think about it the part of 540 that goes from I-40 down to NC 55 is designated NC540 not I-540. JMHO
I think we have the 2nd most state maintained raods because other states (not saying this is better or worse) also have county maintained roads, and city maintained roads. Having county maintained roads would drastically reduce the state maintained mileage. But then counties would have to come up with a revenue source, but states could turn some revenue back to the counties.
Notice that I didn't include "planned" or "politics" anywhere in that statement.....I think that the school around here that produces most of those people is over in the Chapel Hill, and if you think that this was caused because State grads designed it wrong, well.... Why don't you go to Wal-Mart and buy you another UNC hat...
Planning plays a major role in the engineering process and is done by engineers, e.g. traffic counts, etc., I would hope you realize this.
