Another thread sparked my curiosity, and in looking at the map I noticed that Highway I-95 runs what appears to be something like five to ten miles from Raleigh, NC and its suburbs.

I can see leaving room for growth, I can see keeping noise and air pollution down, I can even see trying to separate cross-town traffic from the eighteen wheelers, but....why wasn't I-95 run closer to Raleigh when it was built?

Because 301 didn't go anywhere near Raleigh.

Before the Eisenhower interstate system people still had places to go and used the roads with stop signs to go there. When the first round of I-'s were built they were built in places to take the load off of those overloaded state roads.

Through the Carolinas that was 301.

Interested in the responses. Not sure of the timing of when it went in and when the other major roads in the area went in. I do know from my travel in the area that it’s closer to 35 miles east of RDU metro.

It's 30+ miles from any I-95 exit (Smithfield or Benson) to Raleigh.

Yes, I-95 was meant to take traffic off US Hwy 301 --- not pass thru the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

quote:

When the first round of I-'s were built they were built in places to take the load off of those overloaded state roads.

Well, that definitely makes government sense. It still seems odd, though, to look at a map and see Raleigh apparently connected to the interstate by what look more or less like the upgraded farm to market roads you see in NOVA or around here in Central Texas.

Raleigh is definitely not connected to I-95. It's 30 miles west of I-95.

I-40 runs thru Raleigh and to Wilmington. And intersects I-95 SouthEast of Raleigh.

The Interstates were designed to move military materiel around the US during a war on this continent, and to move materiel to the ports for export.

Sir Beep nailed it. It’s predecessor (301) wasn’t routed through it...

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Well, that definitely makes government sense. It still seems odd, though, to look at a map and see Raleigh apparently connected to the interstate by what look more or less like the upgraded farm to market roads you see in NOVA or around here in Central Texas.

Bad maps, if that's what they show.

I drive the Raleigh<->I-95 connection due east via US 64 (a.k.a. "Future US 87", formerly a.k.a. "Future US 495") a couple times a year. Interstate-level divided multi-lane highway all the way to 95 and past. I-40 connects Raleigh to I-95 a different direction (NW-SE) and is similarly multi-lane US interstate.

(There may be some county-road ways to do the same thing, of course.)

Related (sort of) US interstate highway trivia. A Lieutenant Eisenhower was in put in charge of the first US Army coast-to-coast motor vehicle convoy, early in his career. He wrote a scathing report. Roads didn't connect to one another. Bad signage. Poor road design and maintenance. Many river crossings via ferries vs. bridges. Horrific.

Then, later in his career, General Eisenhower got to breeze through Germany on their nice new Autobahns. The locals were definitely not friendly (midst of WWII) but boy, they sure knew their highway designs.

Then, still later in his career, President Eisenhower was leader of a country that needed (badly) to have highways put in, for strategic reasons (get military equipment reasonably close to all borders, e.g.) as well as economic reasons. Having been there, he knew what needed doing.

When one looks at the Eisenhower Interstate system as a diagram and not a map, the logic of its design becomes evident.



Or, perhaps as a subway map

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:
When one looks at the Eisenhower Interstate system as a diagram and not a map, the logic of its design becomes evident.

I see you've managed to meld the make-pot-legal and and interstate threads into one.....

I read this book several years ago, and for the geeks it's an interesting insight into the controversies, planning and methods undertaken.

Linky

^^^ Thanks, that'll go on my list of books to read.

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:
When one looks at the Eisenhower Interstate system as a diagram and not a map, the logic of its design becomes evident.

Well, that's the thing. Sometimes the logic of the design overwhelms the logic of what the design was meant to do. In this case, I guess the design was following a logic I hadn't considered.

quote:

Originally posted by pillboxesghost:
It's 30+ miles from any I-95 exit (Smithfield or Benson) to Raleigh.

Yes, I-95 was meant to take traffic off US Hwy 301 --- not pass thru the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

Good thing too otherwise Raleigh might have turned out like Richmond or worse.

well, maybe the previous state government agencies did not want to give any snow birds an excuse to detour from their route from Jersey to Florida and back. (G)



I was told at one time Greensboro was an important hub for Trucking. several major truck lines like Old Dominion, headquartered here because 50% of the US population was within a 8 hour drive. 85 N & S intersects with 40 E & W

YMMV
john

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
Sir Beep nailed it. It’s predecessor (301) wasn’t routed through it...

Of course he did.

I grew up in a house on 301 beside the last stretch of 95 to be finished. And ran a tourist trap convenience store right on it at the beginning of that stretch. If you are one of the yankees that drove to fl on it up until a few years ago you might know where that is as it's where the shimmy and shake started on black top planted on top of road bed intended for cement.