52 replies to this topic

[thatlookseasy]

If gas taxes arent high enough to cover the state's Dept of Transportation costs (NC's dont last time I checked), you are essentially subsidizing cars over other forms of transportation

[Darth Biscuit]

iirc part of the reason the gas tax is really high is because north carolina has a lot of roads to maintain

Every state has a lot of roads to maintain. But most states have city and county roads. NC doesn't. The state maintains all roads.
Still - that annual vehicle tax that goes to your county? what does it fund?

NC does in fact have more road miles than most comparable sized states, plus we do have much, much better road maintenance than at least our neighboring states. Compare NC rural roads to SC rural roads... huge difference in quality.

Just looked it up... NC is 16th in total road miles but only 28th in total area. Only Pennsylvania and Ohio are below us in area and higher in road miles on those lists.

[Panthro]

I thought NC was #2 in miles of highways behind Texas

[Darth Biscuit]

I thought NC was #2 in miles of highways behind Texas

http://www.cubitplanning.com/blog/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/

It does specify that that list is "lane miles"...

Trying (unsuccessfully so far) to find a centerline miles list...

[Mr. Belding]

I thought NC was #2 in miles of highways behind Texas

Misleading cherry picked statistic.
NC doesn't have city or county roads. All roads are maintained by the state. NC has the second most state-maintained roads, only because cities and counties do not maintain roads.

Minnesota, for example, has Interstate highways, US highways, state highways AND county highways.

[Panthro]

Interesting. Thanks for that info.

[Mr. Belding]

NC does in fact have more road miles than most comparable sized states, plus we do have much, much better road maintenance than at least our neighboring states. Compare NC rural roads to SC rural roads... huge difference in quality.

That's because you're comparing with SC. I have a lot of family around Hartsfield and Darlington. Those are the only rural areas I know in SC. They aren't that bad in that area.

Still- I've been to all but a few states, lived in 5 states and three other countries. I've also lived in rural Wilkes County. I think NC's roads are pretty bad. Rural or otherwise.

Have you driven I-85 S into Charlotte recently? Then merged from a 60 MPH zone to the 55 MPH I-77 via the 35 MPH ramp? Said ramp merges to the left lane of I-77, so you've gotta fight through several lanes of traffic if you want to take the fast approaching I-277 ramp, which is on the right. That exit is also a 35 MPH ramp that merges to the left lane.

What idiot designed that?

Just looked it up... NC is 16th in total road miles but only 28th in total area. Only Pennsylvania and Ohio are below us in area and higher in road miles on those lists.

I'd like to see a compaison of the quality of roads.

[Darth Biscuit]

That's because you're comparing with SC. I have a lot of family around Hartsfield and Darlington. Those are the only rural areas I know in SC. They aren't that bad in that area.

Still- I've been to all but a few states, lived in 5 states and three other countries. I've also lived in rural Wilkes County. I think NC's roads are pretty bad. Rural or otherwise.

Have you driven I-85 S into Charlotte recently? Then merged from a 60 MPH zone to the 55 MPH I-77 via the 35 MPH ramp? Said ramp merges to the left lane of I-77, so you've gotta fight through several lanes of traffic if you want to take the fast approaching I-277 ramp, which is on the right. That exit is also a 35 MPH ramp that merges to the left lane.

What idiot designed that?


I'd like to see a compaison of the quality of roads.

I doubt you'll find any comparison as to quality... I've seen a pretty major difference overall of the quality of roads, both rural, highway and interstate in NC vs the regional states. That's obviously just my opinion.

Now, as for good planning, smart design, etc... that's lacking in a lot of ways throughout the entire state. Sometimes they do stuff that's so mind bogglingly stupid it's hard to imagine.

[g5jamz]

I know people that work in the DOT and are engineers that get contracts with NCDOT, and yes...NC is either 2nd or 3rd in paved roads in the US.

[Jase]

Yeah it's the whole thing where NC maintains all of the county roads unlike most states.

NCDOT actually has their sh*t really together compared with other agencies. No complaints from me.

[Darth Biscuit]

Yeah it's the whole thing where NC maintains all of the county roads unlike most states.

NCDOT actually has their sh*t really together compared with other agencies. No complaints from me.

Psshhhhh... what do you know about engineering?

[Jase]

pi r squared, I forgot the rest of engineering school.

[Mr. Belding]

I googled quality of roads by states and found a trucker forum. Who is better than truckers to give a comparison?
To my surprise NC did show up on a few best lists. SC, Arkansas and Michigan showed up on virtually every worst list.

[Darth Biscuit]

I googled quality of roads by states and found a trucker forum. Who is better than truckers to give a comparison?
To my surprise NC did show up on a few best lists. SC, Arkansas and Michigan showed up on virtually every worst list.

Well obviously the northern states are at a disadvantage due to ice/snow, but overall SC's road budget is pretty thin. They just don't put the money in roads that NC does, probably because they just don't have it.

[Jase]

SCDOT designs their roads and bridges in metric. METRIC

End result: The engineer designs in imperial. Converts units to metric. Hands to contractor. Contractor converts back to imperial. Dimensions end up being inexact.