Segment 18
|
Where: From US
74/76 interection west of Whiteville, Columbus County to US
17 near Hickman Road near the South Carolina Line, Brunswick County
Length: 62 Miles Needed: Construct New Highway/Upgrade Existing Highways to Interstate Standards |
As originally proposed,
Interstate I-74 was to be routed from the US74/76 freeway
near Whiteville into South Carolina. NCDOT has produced proposals for
two different routes since 1997, the currently favored proposal being the
subject of a feasibility study released in December 2005. (1).
A. THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. The first option studied by NCDOT
in the 1990's, originally listed as late as the 2006-2012 STIP as Project
R-3436, would have built a new 31 mile freeway from US 74/76 near
Whiteville to US 17 at the South Carolina line. This project was
later listed simply as a 'Feasibility Study Reevaluation in Progress' after
a new routing proposal from NC's Governor Easley in 2003 (see B below).
(2) With the release of the feasibility study reeevaluation in August
2005 this older proposal is now seen simply as a basis of comparison to
tout the merits of the proposal discussed in section B. This was actually
not the first reevaluation of this route. In 2000, citing concerns that
the planned I-74 routing through Brunswick County could be environmentally
damaging, NCDOT undertook another feasibility study on the possibility
of upgrading US 74-76 to interstate standards from Whiteville to the
future US 17 bypass west of Wilmington (which NCDOT announced in Sept.
2002 would also designated as Interstate 140 (3)). The study was completed in the
Fall of 2001 and indicated it would be possible, at a cost $4 million
a mile, to upgrade the 40 miles of US 74-76 to an Interstate. (1)
The 2009 -2015 STIP listed this as Project Number R-4462, unfunded, with
an estimated construction cost of $160 million and a start date after
2015. (4) The new 2011-2015 revised STIP has no entry, implying no construction
until after 2020. (5) Part of this route, the 8 mile long US 74-76 Whiteville
bypass, is already close to interstate standards already and has a 70 mph
speed limit. NCDOT has put up Future I-74 Corridor signs
along the bypass, like the one below (photo courtesy of Adam Prince).
Some officials
in Wilmington used this study as a basis to call for the ending of I-74
there (See E below). (6)
B. A NEW PROPOSAL
FOR I-74. On May 5, 2003 NC Governor Mike Easley announced,
as part of his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for SE North
Carolina, a new routing for I-74 east of Whiteville, shown in map
at top. I-74 would not go to Wilmington, nor directly to SC, but
would instead travel east along US 74-76 to near Bolton and from
there roughly parallel NC 211 to US 17 near Shallotte. I-74 would
then follow US 17 south to a few miles north of the SC border where it
will jog slightly west and then south on a new highway that would connect
with an extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway to Myrtle Beach (currently
SC 31). (7) It is this route that now
is referred to under Project R-3436 in the Draft 2009-2015 STIP, and is listed
for 'planning and environmental study' by the NC Turnpike Authority. (8)
(To see a more
detailed version of the map of this proposed routing created by
the NCDOT Statewide Planning Branch for the Strategic Highway Corridors
project, click
HERE). (9)) NCDOT had previously announced
helping SC study extending the Parkway (which is currently 20 miles
long with 6 lanes running from SC 9 to US 501) northward from SC 9 to
the NC Border. (10,11) SCDOT has been encouraged to petition the FHWA
to have the Parkway be designated I-74. (12) The Governor's proposal directs
NCDOT to work with the Federal Highway Admininstration (FHWA) to get
approval for the proposed routes. If approved, funding would be sought
from Congress to help pay for them. It is unclear how soon construction
along the proposed route(s), if approved, would begin but it may not
be for 20 to 30 years under the current highway funding mechanisms. NCDOT began studying the new proposal
by holding public hearings on the NC 211 routing in late 2003. The 2009-2015
STIP lists a project to build an interchange along US 74-76 at NC 211
(Project R-61). (15) The NC 211 interchange may now be east of where I-74
leaves US 74-76. Construction of this interchange, along with one at US
74 and NC 242 (see Segment 17), is
to begin in 2010. (16) A workshop was held by NCDOT at the Bolton Town
Hall on July 10, 2006 to provide information to interested citizens. (17)
The new SAFETEA-LU transportation law has moneys earmarked for both these
projects. In August 2005 an NCDOT financed feasibility study of the I-74
route in this area was completed. The study was publicly released in December
2005, the cost pegged for the preferred alternative, a 64 mile stretch mostly
involving new freeway construction from Whiteville to the South Carolina
border using the NC 211 corridor and US 17, and the Carolina Bays Parkway
Extension (see Segment
19) is $641 million. (18)
Under this latest
proposal this segment of I-74 would be broken up 3 ways, with approximate
mileage (some figures taken from the I-74 Feasibility Study and
NCDOT Strategic Corridors website) being:
US 74/76 West of Whiteville to NC 211,
Bolton Upgrade Highway
22 Miles
NC 211 From US 74/76 to US 17
near Shallotte (Mostly) Build Highway
28 Miles
US 17 Shallotte
to Carolina Bays Extension Build and
Upgrade 12 Miles
Connector
Total Route:
62 Miles
A more extensive description of each section can be found
HERE.
Here's a photo of the NC 130 interchange on US 17 near Shallotte which, under some alternative corridors for the proposed routing above, will be an exit off of I-74:
in North Carolina?
As part of Gov. Easley's 2003 proposal
(see text and map link above), US 74-76 from Whiteville to Wilmington
would be upgraded to an interstate, and be designated as part of
an extension of I-20 from Florence, SC to the Wilmington Outer Loop
(I-140) (As of now there is no proposal for I-20 to take over I-140's
route to I-40, I-20 may continue, however along US 74-76 to downtown
Wilmington as shown on a Strategic Highway Corridors map of the area).
I-20 would total about 60 miles in NC and I-74 and I-20 would be routed
together for 22 miles from just west of Whiteville to near Bolton.
There does not appear to be much support for this plan in South Carolina,
however. On March 22, 2004 Rep. Mike McIntyre held a series of "I-74/I-20
Rallies" in his district, which includes Wilmington, to help jump start
lobbying efforts for building I-20. According to an article written
covering the event, the I-20 proposal was losing steam due to SC's determined
efforts to get funds for I-73, a road that would parallel much of the
proposed I-20 routing. An SCDOT spokesman is quoted in the same article
as confirming I-73 is the top priority and saying "(t)here are no
plans or thoughts of the I-20 extension." (13) NCDOT at the SCDOT I-73
Summit in February 2005 gave in on having I-20 be part of the discussions
about final routing for I-73 and I-74, allowing for an agreement on
border routings to occur, see I-74 Segment 19
and I-73 Segment
13. (14) Though some officials are still optimistic. (17) The new
SAFETEA-LU transportation act signed by President Bush in August 2005 contains
$5 million for NC to study extending the I-20 route to Wilmington. SC did
not request similar moneys, however. As it looks now, I-20 will not be
routed east of Florence any time soon.
C. YET ANOTHER
I-74 ROUTING PROPOSAL? According to a March 10, 2005 article in
the Whiteville (NC) News Reporter, at a fundraising dinner for Congressman
Mike McIntyre on March 7 NCDOT officials released a map showing I-74
routed through Columbus County on a new route from US 74 east of Chadbourn
to US 17 roughly following the paths of NC 410 and 130 and crossing
US 701 halfway between Whiteville and Tabor City. (18) This map has
not appeared as of yet at the NCDOT website. It is unclear whether this
is new route is now the preferred alternative or whether it is a fallback
in case the NC 211 route proves unfeasible. A subsequent article a week
later in the same paper about progress on the NC 211 corridor study implies
the latter. (19) Both older proposals (the original roughly following NC
904 and the suggested NC 211 route) traverse swamp lands for most of their
paths, the NC 410/130 route has fewer wetlands to go through. The
Nature Conservancy, which oversees much of the Green Swamp through which
NC 211, and the proposed I-74, traverses has come out publicly against the
route. (20) They held had discussions with NCDOT about possibly putting
the route on a new alignment away from NC 211 which was reflected in the
subsequent I-74 feasibilty study discussed above. (21)
D. Build
as a Toll Highway?
A November 16, 2005 report in the Wilmington Star-News indicated
that Brunswick County officials approached the North Carolina Turnpike
Authority about financing the proposed 44.8 mile I-74 segment from US
74/76 in Bolton to the SC Border as a toll highway during a meeting earlier
in the month. The officials, seeing both the $550 million projected cost
from feasilibity studies and that NCDOT may not build the road with
current revenues for another 20-30 years, have suggested building it
as a toll road to speed up construction. (22) At its June 14, 2006 meeting
the Turnpike Authority Board agreed to study building I-74 as a toll road
but only the Brunswick County portion that will parallel US 17. They do
not believe traffic counts along the NC 211 corridor portion would be high
enough to make tolling that feasible. A preliminary feasibility study put
the cost of building the toll road 22 miles from US 17 in Supply to the
SC border at $340 million. (23) The consultants final report in June 2007
indicated that tolls would only cover only 42% of the cost and would not
be worth building if the other connecting routes were not built first. Substantial
money would be required from the state legislature which would compete with
money needed for the nearby proposed Cape Fear Skyway where tolls would cover
only 55% of the cost. (24) NCDOT, however, released an updated Brunswick
County transportation plan in July 2008 which not only still included the
proposed toll road it bowed to local officials wishes to keep I-74 on a seperate
alignment and extended it all the way from Shallote to the SC border. They
also wanted a connector route built between I-74 and I-140 and to upgrade
US 17 to an expressway. (25) The exits along the proposed toll road would
be for NC 211, the I-74/I-140 connector, Royal Oak Road, NC 130, NC 904 and
Hickman Road. (26)
E. End
in Wilmington Instead?
Business and political leaders in the
Wilmington area saw the designation of I-140 in 2002 and NCDOT's
US 74-76 feasibility study (discussed above) as incentives to build Interstate
74 along US74/76 and end it at I-140 west of the city.
"It's an excellent hook to pull I-74 east" according to a statement
at the time by Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) (3,4). With the proposed
I-20 extension to Wilmington still only in the study phase, US 74-76
planned to be upgraded to interstate standards, and the apparent high
costs (over $500 million) of routing an interstate through wetlands,
there may be renewed support to having I-74 simply end at the port city.
NCDOT seemingly doesn't rule this out in that the Feb. 2005 agreement
with SC has that state willing to build an extension of the Carolina
Bays Parkway to the NC state line 'to connect with either I-74 or a spur
of I-74.' (20) The recently approved Strategic Highway Corridors plan
indicates that US 17 south of Wilmington to SC is to be upgraded to a freeway
(though recent reports have NCDOT suggesting cost considerations may mean
it would be upgraded slowly over several decades, with stoplights being
planned for some intersections in the interim). This freeway could conceivably
be an I-74 spur. (or could simply be an extension of I-140, but plans
are now to route that from US 17 east onto the proposed Cape Fear Skyway).
It is unknown though when work on upgrading US 17 is planned.
Comment: Given the
news that the latest proposal to toll I-74 in Brunswick County is economically
unfeasible, probably no longer how long it is, and that a route through
the Green Swamp would be environmentally and economically costly, might it
make more sense to fund the upgrading of US 74-76 to interstate
standards and route I-74 along it in its entirety to end at Wilmington then
perhaps extend
the proposed toll road further north parelleling US 17 to tie into I-140
when it's completed? The toll road could serve (with or without an interstate
designation) as a spur route from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach.
If anyone has any other photos to share of the area in the vicinity of this segment, feel free to E-mail me.
Sources: NC Transportation Map 2001, NCRoads (http://www.ncroads.com/interst/ih074.htm).
(1) Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP.
2005. I-74 Feasibility Study: From Union Valley Road (SR 1585 ) in Whiteville
to South Carolina State Line. Available online at http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/SHC/studies/I74/
(2) NCDOT. July 2005. State Transportation
Improvement Program, 2006-2012, Division 3, p. 3-6.
(3) McGrath, Gareth. 2002. "Outer Loop named
Wilmington's 2nd Interstate." Morning Star (Wilmington,
NC). Sept. 19: 1A, 6A.
(4) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement
Program, 2009-2015, Division 6, p. 6-9.
(5) McGrath, Gareth. 2001. "I-74 may
be in Port City's Future." Morning Star (Wilmington, NC).
October 9: 1B, 3B.
(6) WRAL TV. 2003. "Easley Announces Strategic Transportation
Plan" Downloaded from http://www.wral.com/traffic/2180629/detail.html,
May 5, 2003.
(7) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Program,
2009-2015, Division 6, p. 6-8.
(8) NCDOT. August 2010. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2011-2015,
Draft, Division 6, High Project Spreadsheet.
(9) NCDOT. 2004. Strategic Highway Corridors.
Strategic Highway Corridors Vision Map-Southeastern NC. Downloaded
from http://www.ncdot.org/planning/tpb/SHC/PDF/shc_vision_map_southeast.pdf.
(10) SCDOT. 2003. Carolina Bays Parkway. Info downloaded from
http://www.dot.state.sc.us/Projects/CarolinaBays /default.html,
May 11, 2003.
(11) WRAL TV. 2003. "N.C. Officials Looking
To Extend S.C. Highway For Beach Traffic." Downloaded from
http://www.wral.com/traffic/2171290/detail.html,
May 1, 2003.
(12) The Sun News. 2005. "I-74 First to Reach Strand?" Editorial.
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). October 15.
(13) Vergakis, Brock. 2004. "Funds Secured for NC Road Projects."
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). March 30.
(14) Wilson, Zane. 2005. "Carolinas Reach Interstate
Deal." The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). February 12.
(15) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Plan,
2009-2015, Division 6, Columbus County, p. 6-9.
(16) Phone conversation with Mark Schreiner, November 16, 2005.
(17) NCDOT. 2006. NCDOT Workshops July 10-11 for Proposed Interchange
Additions Along U.S. 74 in Columbus County. Press Release, July 6.
(18) Helm, Mike. 2005. "Congressman Announces Highway
Funding." The News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 10.
(19) Hinnant, Lee. 2005. "Route for Interstate Studied."
The News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 16.
(20) Vergakis, Brock. 2005. "Brunswick Mixed on Roads." The
Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). August 2.
(21) SCDOT. 2005. "Interstate 73 Summit a Success."
News Release. Feb. 11.
(22) Schreiner, Mark. 2005. "Some Push for an I-74 Toll Link."
The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). November 16.
(23) McGrath, Gareth. 2006. "Turnpike Authority to Study Stretch
of I-74 for Toll Road." The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). June
15.
(24) Trapani, Carol. 2007. "I-74 Study: What's Missing are the Cars
to Generate Money." The Brunswick (NC) Beacon. June 27.
(25) Bowen, Shannan. 2008. "Revised Brunswick Roads Proposal Now Includes
Plans for New Port." The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). July 8.
(26) NCDOT. 2008. Recommendations for the Brunswick County Comprehensive
Transportation Plan, Revised. June 12. Downloaded from http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/planning/BrunswickCo.html
I-74 shield courtesy
of
David R. Kendrick's Shield's
Up!.
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