ENC: history of US 70?
Mike Tantillo
Like what the route may have been numbered before it was US 70, when
were the bypasses of Kinston and Goldsboro completed, when and why the
limited access stretch west of New Bern was built, did it always end in
Atlantic, when it was 4-laned, etc? Anyone know any interesting random
facts about the road?
Dave Filpus
"Mike Tantillo" <mjtan...@yahoo.com> wrote:
The Central Highway was originally numbered NC 10.
<http://www.ncroads.com/nchwys/nc010.html>
In 1927, NC 10 east of Asheville was renumbered to US 70.
<http://www.members.cox.net/ncroads/us070.html>
contains historical info on US 70 in NC.
--
Dave Filpus
<http://roadgeek.filpus.org/>
Adam Prince
"Mike Tantillo" <mjtan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1133117479.2...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Around 1980 was when the New Bern Freeway was built. In the early 90s, 70
was being widened in the Selma/Smithfield area out to Princeton. Parts of
it was widening the existing route and some on a new alignment. What is US
70 now is a result of that widening. US 70A was shortened to end just east
of I-95. What was US 70 became 70 Business.
Sometime in the late? 90s, what is now US 70 Bypass was built which bypassed
the US 70/I-95 interchange. The Bypass is basically for thru traffic with
no direct access to I-95. It is via exits to US 70 (or as I call it Vanilla
70).
SD Rhodes and Brian LeBlanc tell how the part of US 70 that was bypassed in
the late 90s was briefly called US 70 Business...but that only created
confusion as there would be two Business US 70s within the segment.
Years before that - US 70 West had followed what is now Business 70 into
Smithfield then went North on US 301 to Selma and West towards Raleigh on
what is now US 70.
It would change sometime in the 50s (I'll have to dig through maps) to where
US 70 followed business 70 through Smithfield...and US 70A would run through
Selma. See above for how that changed.
Then you throw in the idea in the 70s that I-40 was going to follow US 70
more closely at least to Smithfield and possibly Morehead City.
A map scan is here: http://www.gribblenation.com/ncpics/i40-1971.jpg (Source
1971 Rand
McNally/Union 76 NC/SC) Similar alignments for I-40 show up from about
1970-1976 on various Gas maps.
For those unfamiliar: I-40 runs more parallel to NC 50 to Benson today.
In October, we had a brief thread in southeastroads about that proposals.
It will be in my next NC update (explaining the 4 US 70's of
Selma/Smithfield) and also the information I have about the early proposed
route of I-40 vs. the route it eventually took. I'm just needing some
photos from that area to go along with what I have laid out already. (hint,
hint).
The rest of the goodies on dates...follow the links Dave gave.
Michael Marshburn
in Beaufort.
"Mike Tantillo" <mjtan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1133117479.2...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Craig Zeni
> "Mike Tantillo" <mjtan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1133117479.2...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
>>Does anyone know anything about the history of US 70 in eastern NC?
>>Like what the route may have been numbered before it was US 70, when
>>were the bypasses of Kinston and Goldsboro completed, when and why the
>>limited access stretch west of New Bern was built, did it always end in
>>Atlantic, when it was 4-laned, etc? Anyone know any interesting random
>>facts about the road?
>>
>
>
> Around 1980 was when the New Bern Freeway was built.
Under construction - paved and driveable with lines in summer of
1978...I know from, er, driving it before it was open in that summer :)
Rumor has it that this was done as part of the planning for I-40
heading toward Morehead City instead of Wilmington NC.
Do tell - where is this forum/list/?
>
> It will be in my next NC update (explaining the 4 US 70's of
> Selma/Smithfield) and also the information I have about the early proposed
> route of I-40 vs. the route it eventually took. I'm just needing some
> photos from that area to go along with what I have laid out already. (hint,
> hint).
More details on whatcha need?
CZ
NC
Adam Prince
"Craig Zeni" <Don.Co...@spammers.die> wrote in message
news:NkMjf.11460$aA2....@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Adam Prince wrote:
>> "Mike Tantillo" <mjtan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1133117479.2...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>Does anyone know anything about the history of US 70 in eastern NC?
>>>Like what the route may have been numbered before it was US 70, when
>>>were the bypasses of Kinston and Goldsboro completed, when and why the
>>>limited access stretch west of New Bern was built, did it always end in
>>>Atlantic, when it was 4-laned, etc? Anyone know any interesting random
>>>facts about the road?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Around 1980 was when the New Bern Freeway was built.
>
> Under construction - paved and driveable with lines in summer of 1978...I
> know from, er, driving it before it was open in that summer :) Rumor has
> it that this was done as part of the planning for I-40 heading toward
> Morehead City instead of Wilmington NC.
>
Interesting....and if the rumor has some truth to it, it would make sense.
<snip>
>> In October, we had a brief thread in southeastroads about that proposals.
>
> Do tell - where is this forum/list/?
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/seroads/
Or I can e-mail you an invite.
>
>>
>> It will be in my next NC update (explaining the 4 US 70's of
>> Selma/Smithfield) and also the information I have about the early
>> proposed route of I-40 vs. the route it eventually took. I'm just
>> needing some photos from that area to go along with what I have laid out
>> already. (hint, hint).
>
> More details on whatcha need?
1) Photos of all four versions of US 70 shields in the area (US 70A,
Business US 70, US 70 Bypass, US 70)
2) General road scenes of the four routes
3) Photos of where these routes split..in other words termini points.
I'm hoping to do the next batch of NC updates in late December or in
January. I am headed back south in late January for a hockey game, and if i
didn't have anything by then I was gonna head out there myself.
BTW, I got photos of the abandoned I-85 ramps in from Chris Curley.
>
> CZ
> NC