Segment 18
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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
Draft 2009-2015 STIP lists this as Project Number R-4462, currently unfunded,
with an estimated construction cost of $160 million and a start date after
2015. (4) 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). (5)
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). (6) 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. (7)
(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). (8)) 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. (9,10) SCDOT has been encouraged to petition the FHWA to have the
Parkway be designated I-74. (11) 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 Draft
2009-2015 STIP lists a project to build an interchange along US 74-76
at NC 211 (Project R-61). (14) 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. (15) A workshop was held by NCDOT at the Bolton Town
Hall on July 10, 2006 to provide information to interested citizens. (16)
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. (16)
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." (12) 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.
(13) 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. (17) 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.
(18) 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. (19) 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. (20)
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. (21) 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.
(22) 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. (23)
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.' (19)
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 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. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement
Program, Draft, 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. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement Program, Draft,
2009-2015, Division 6, p. 6-8.
(8) 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.
(9) SCDOT. 2003. Carolina Bays Parkway. Info downloaded from http://www.dot.state.sc.us/Projects/CarolinaBays
/default.html, May 11, 2003.
(10) 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.
(11) The Sun News. 2005. "I-74 First to Reach Strand?" Editorial.
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). October 15.
(12) Vergakis, Brock. 2004. "Funds Secured for NC Road Projects."
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). March 30.
(13) Wilson, Zane. 2005. "Carolinas Reach Interstate
Deal." The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). February 12.
(14) NCDOT. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement Plan,
Draft 2009-2015, Division 6, Columbus County, p. 6-7.
(15) Phone conversation with Mark Schreiner, November 16, 2005.
(16) NCDOT. 2006. NCDOT Workshops July 10-11 for Proposed Interchange
Additions Along U.S. 74 in Columbus County. Press Release, July 6.
(17) Helm, Mike. 2005. "Congressman Announces Highway Funding."
The News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 10.
(18) Hinnant, Lee. 2005. "Route for Interstate Studied." The
News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 16.
(19) Vergakis, Brock. 2005. "Brunswick Mixed on Roads." The
Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). August 2.
(20) SCDOT. 2005. "Interstate 73 Summit a Success." News
Release. Feb. 11.
(21) Schreiner, Mark. 2005. "Some Push for an I-74 Toll Link." The
Star-News (Wilmington, NC). November 16.
(22) McGrath, Gareth. 2006. "Turnpike Authority to Study Stretch of
I-74 for Toll Road." The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). June 15.
(23) Trapani, Carol. 2007. "I-74 Study: What's Missing are the Cars to
Generate Money." The Brunswick (NC) Beacon. June 27.
I-74 shield courtesy
of David R. Kendrick's Shield's Up!.
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