News-Record.com

Paving work will drop N.C. 68 northbound to one lane from Interstate 40 to Market Street beginning at 11 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. on Monday.

Drivers should use caution and expect delays when approaching this area. Work may be prolonged due to inclement weather.

For more information, call 334-3297.

The N.C. Department of Transportation will temporarily close westbound Interstate 40 Business/U.S. 421 between Linville Road and U.S. 158 in Forsyth County.

The closure will be in place Monday and Tuesday from midnight to 6 a.m., weather permitting.

A signed detour will be in place: Linville Road to U.S. 158 back to I-40 Business/U.S. 421

The closure is necessary for bridgework as part of the I-40 Business rehabilitation project.

For more information, call 969-0430.

High Point officials are holding a public information session on the widening of Oakview Road between Johnson Street and Old Winston Road.

Residents can drop in between 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at Oakview Recreation Center, 503 James Road.

The two-lane road will be widened to four lanes, with a center lane for turns. The work will impact nearly 100 properties along the road, either through construction work or land purchases. The city will not have to buy entire homes and businesses.

Daily traffic is about 3,500 vehicles each day, but by 2025 the amount of traffic is expected to double. There is also congestion on the road in the mornings and afternoons when students are dropped off and picked up from Oakview Elementary School.

Sidewalks will be constructed along both sides of Oakview Road and along the west side of James Road to the Oakview Recreation Center.

The $4 million in funding for the project was included as part of bond package approved by voters.

The city is scheduled to begin buying property for the project this fall. Construction will begin in summer 2006.

For more information, call the city's engineering department at 883-3194 or the city's transportation department at 883-3225.

Portions of Cornwallis and Lawndale drives will be closed next week because of city sewer work.
From Monday to Wednesday, the city will close Cornwallis Drive from Dellwood Street to Lawndale Drive from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day. One north bound lane of Lawndale Drive will be closed as well as the left turn lane from southbound Lawndale Drive on to Cornwallis Drive.
Detour signs will be in place and drivers can expect delays, said city officials.

The southbound lanes of North Main Street between Parris Avenue and Eastchester/Westchester Drive will remain closed until noon Thursday while a contractor repairs the street.

City crews dug up that portion of the street Saturday morning to find and repair a broken water line.

Traffic is being diverted to Parris Avenue. Detour signs are posted.

I thought New York City cab drivers were bad. Their Peruvian counterparts show no mercy at all.

Construction on segments of the Urban Loop from U.S. 70 to Bryan Boulevard may be delayed by two to four years because of a state transportation budget crunch.

The Urban Loop, also known as Painter Boulevard, is a circular bypass of about 40 miles being built around Greensboro, one section at a time.

Work was scheduled to begin on the segment from U.S. 70 to U.S. 29 in 2009, from U.S. 29 to Lawndale Drive in 2010 and from Lawndale Drive to Bryan Boulevard in 2008. Now, construction may be postponed on all three segments until sometime after 2012, according to a draft work schedule released Wednesday by the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Read "Tight budget may postpone Urban Loop"

Worried about the proposed construction delays on segments of the Urban Loop from U.S. 70 to Bryan Boulevard?

The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a meeting May 16 for the region to comment on its draft work schedule released Wednesday.
The meeting will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Kernersville Municipal Council Chambers, 134 E. Mountain St. Registration begins at 1 p.m.

Along with the Loop, the draft proposes delays on several major road projects in the region. Delays are included for construction of the U.S. 311 Bypass, the Jamestown Bypass and the connector between U.S. 220 and N.C. 68, as well as the widening of U.S. 220 and Skeet Club Road.

The work schedule is available at www.ncdot.org/~tip. E-mail comments can be submitted from the site. Comments can be mailed to: N.C. DOT TIP Development Unit, 1534 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1534.

Comments will be accepted through June 3.

Following up on Amy's post...

As the Urban Loop around Greensboro faces major setbacks because of funding, those living in Forsyth County catch a lucky break. The state's transportation department pushed back projects in surrounding areas to help pay for local improvements. The Urban Loop isn't alone in taking it on the chin. Residents of Davidson and Rowan counties, which officials acknowlege face "badly needed but extremely expensive improvements to nearly seven miles of Interstate 85," need to swallow their gripes as well.

I'm wondering exactly how much influece Dell holds over the state's upper echelons of government. The conspiracy theorist in me believes other counties are picking up the slack for Forsyth's good fortune. Imagine that.

Bishop Road will be closed between Holden and Groometown roads from 9 a.m. Monday to 3 p.m. Friday.

The road will be closed so work crews can replace the timber deck on the existing bridge.

For a detour, drivers should take Holden Road to Old Randleman Road to Kivett Drive to Groometown Road.

For more information, call 375-5589.

About the only thing more frustrating than traveling Holden Road in rush hour is traveling Holden Road in rush hour with only one lane open to traffic.

Bill Hill feels your pain. Just don't blame him for trying to keep his workers safe.

"We don't have anything to protect us except these barriers," the construction site supervisor said Wednesday as he took a break from working at the road's intersection with West Market Street. He motioned to his orange and white barrels. "The first thing you preach is safety. Never turn your back to traffic."

Another example of your government hard at work. Starting in June, airlines must report to the federal government the number of pets that die or go missing during flights. Finally: an issue uniting both cats and dogs.

Hey, mon... Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Paving work has begun on Randleman Road and will cause lane closures in both directions between Florida Street and Creek Ridge Road.

The closures will occur between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at any time on the weekends.

The work should be completed by the end of May.

For more information, call the N.C. Department of Transportation 334-3297.

Before anyone travels by a commuter train or on an expanded bus system in the Piedmont Triad, the region's transportation authority will need to find a truckload of money.

So on Wednesday, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation agreed to set up a committee to develop a long-range financial plan and increase its funding.

Continue reading "PART panel looks for money"

Beginning Monday, the city of Greensboro will begin the following road work that could cause drivers delays.

MANHOLE AND VALVE ADJUSTMENTS:
Lawndale Drive from Cone Boulevard to Pisgah Church Road
Dante Lane from Friendly Acres Drive to cul de sac
Red Sail Lane from Gramercy Road to dead end
Chadford Place from Red Sail Lane to Friendly Acres Drive
Gainsboro Drive from Friendly Acres Drive to Chadford Place
Palmyra Drive from Hobbs Road to Pinetop Road

RESURFACING AND PATCHING:
Mitchell Street from Muirs Chapel Road to dead end
Dogwood Drive from Holden Road to Beverly Place
Elm Street from Cone Boulevard to Cornwallis Drive
Elm Street from Northwood Street to Fisher Park Circle

Patsy Campbell and Lisa Stewart make an unlikely pair of protesters.

Campbell, a grandmother, and Stewart, who's raising three kids with her husband, both speak in soft voices until you broach the topic of gas prices. That's when things get animated.

The women are organizing a protest April 23 in hopes of starting a national trend. Their protest entails a march up and down Balfour Drive from the U.S. Post Office in Archdale with handmade posters and signs. The protest runs 3 to 6 p.m.

Ultimately, the women want passing motorists to abstain from buying gas on Tuesdays until prices drop. Under $2, that is.

No doubt the East Market Streetscape project under construction right now in Greensboro will turn the area around N.C. A&T into a beautiful stretch of road. I kept telling myself that yesterday as I sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on my way to Franklin Blvd. Does anyone out there want to share tips on avoiding the roadwork? What's the fastest way to get past A&T, from downtown, without using East Market?

The latest reports say gas prices are down a couple of pennies, but that's little consolation. The worst may be yet to come.

I swear I'm getting a hybrid car the next time around.

Carmon Road near Sedalia is closed between Painter Lake and Knox roads so work crews can replace a pipe.

Work began Monday and the road will remain closed through Friday.

To avoid the closure, drivers should take Painter Lake Road to Bethel Church Road to Knox Road.

For more information, call the N.C. Department of Transportation at 375-5589.

HIGH POINT - Thinking you can breeze up and down Eastchester Drive now that furniture market is over?

Think again.

The N.C. Department of Transportation will resume work Friday on repaving the road from Penny Road to North Centennial Street, said Hani Kattan, an assistant resident engineer for N.C. DOT.

Road crews are permitted to work weekdays from 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. with an exception for certain heavily traveled areas. Work on Eastchester Drive's intersections with Wendover Avenue/Skeet Club Road and North Centennial Street as well as just south of Penny Road can only take place on the weekends.

N.C. DOT started work on repaving the road in March, but stopped after city officials grew concerned about congestion along High Point's major north-south artery due to lane closures. No work occurred during the furniture market.

The revamped schedule allows workers to repave the road while reducing traffic tie-ups during rush hour due to lane closures, but drivers can still expect delays.

The repaving should be completed in late June or early July.

My column on Saturday will delve more deeply into this topic, but for now, take advantage of a one-week opportunity to make a buck or two off your old car batteries. A list of North Carolina mechanics taking part in the AAA Carolinas program can be found here.

Not anything earth shattering, but for the tree huggers among us (and I include myself in this group), feel free to volunteer for a statewide highway clean-up program already underway.

When I wrote about old car batteries, I wasn't referring to the kind that hides $35,000.

Beginning Monday, the city of Greensboro will begin the following road work that could cause drivers delays.

MANHOLE AND VALVE ADJUSTMENT LOCATIONS:
- Lawndale Drive from Cone Boulevard to Pisgah Church Road
- Dante Lane from Friendly Acres Drive to cul de sac
- Red Sail Lane from Gramercy Road to dead end
- Chadford Place from Red Sail Lane to Friendly Acres Drive
- Gainsboro Drive from Friendly Acres Drive to Chadford Place
- Palmyra Drive from Hobbs Road to Pinetop Road
- Charlottesville Court from Charlottesville Road to cul de sac
- Charlottesville Road from Highberry Road to Jefferson Road

RESURFACING AND PATCHING EXISTING STREETS:
- Elm Street from Northwood Street to Fisher Park Circle
- Sullivan Street from Cypress Street to Lindsay Street

Hilltop Road in Greensboro between Bridford Parkway and Stanley Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday for storm sewer work.

A detour will be set up.

Eastbound Hilltop Road traffic will be routed north on Bridford Parkway then east on Wendover Avenue, then south on Stanley Road back to Hilltop Road.

Westbound Hilltop Road traffic will be routed north on Stanley Road then west on Wendover Avenue, then south on Bridford Parkway back to Hilltop Road.

Local residents will be able to access their driveways and should use the Stanley Road portion of the detour. Contact Donald Arant or Keith Simpson at 373-2465 for more information.

They collect dust sitting inside garages or backyard sheds. Sometimes you'll find one or two stacked down in a cold, damp basement.

Let's hope the grandkids or the dog won't get to them first. An inquisitive second-grader might find himself taking a trip to the hospital.

Old or damaged car batteries, long since removed from the engine block of vehicles, pose even greater threats to people and the environment than when the power packs are strapped underneath a car's hood.

Why? Officials say it's because cracked casings can leak acid or lead, which corrodes everything from concrete to human skin. Now's your chance to do something about it while making a few bucks for your efforts.

Hilltop Road in Greensboro between Bridford Parkway and Stanley Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday for storm sewer work.

City crews had also closed the road Tuesday to do the work.

A detour will be set up.

Eastbound Hilltop Road traffic will be routed north on Bridford Parkway then east on Wendover Avenue, then south on Stanley Road back to Hilltop Road.

Westbound Hilltop Road traffic will be routed north on Stanley Road then west on Wendover Avenue, then south on Bridford Parkway back to Hilltop Road.

Local residents will be able to access their driveways and should use the Stanley Road portion of the detour. Contact Donald Arant or Keith Simpson at 373-2465 for more information.

The Airbus A380 makes its debut in Toulouse, attracting an estimated 30,000 onlookers who applauded their country's technological triumph over American aeronautics giant Boeing.

France: 1
United States: 1,486.

Good job, monsieurs.

It might be time for that free trip I'm owed somewhere in the continental United States. U.S. Airways discloses an even gloomier first quarter than initial reports indicated. So what'll it be... a trip to Florida, or the Pacific Northwest? I'm thinking Seattle.

Beginning Monday, the city of Greensboro will begin the following road work that could cause drivers delays:

MANHOLE AND VALVE ADJUSTMENT LOCATIONS:
- Palmyra Drive from Hobbs Road to Pinetop Road
- Charlottesville Court from Charlottesville Road to cul de sac
- Charlottesville Road from Highberry Road to Jefferson Road
- Old Friendly Road from Friendly Avenue to Radar Road
- Aero Court from Cessna Drive to cul de sac
- Grumman Road from Boeing Drive to cul de sac
- Cranbrook Street from Causey Street to Cliffton Road
- Ashebrook Drive from Shelby Drive to Wildberry Drive
- North Westgate Drive from West Market Street to Staunton Drive

RESURFACING - ASPHALT TOP PLACEMENT LOCATIONS:
- Dante Land from Friendly Acres Drive to cul de sac
- Red Sail Lane from Gramercy Road to dead end
- Chadford Place from Red Sail Lane to Friendly Acres Drive
- Gainsboro Drive from Friendly Acres Drive to Chadford Place
- Palmyra Drive from Hobbs Road to Pinetop Road
- Old Friendly Road from Friendly Avenue to Radar Road
- Aero Court from Cessna Drive to cul de sac

RESURFACING AND PATCHING EXISTING STREETS:
- Sullivan Street from Cypress Street to Lindsay Street
- Lindsay Street from Dudley Street to Summit Avenue

Bridge cleaning work will require lane closures on some area roads beginning Sunday.

Some lanes will be closed along U.S. 311 between I-85 Business and the Forsyth County line from 9 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. Sunday through Tuesday.

In addition, various lanes along I-85 Business and its bridges at Groometown, Holden and Rehobeth Church roads will be closed from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday.