News-Record.com

This list should make it easier to choose a car seat for the little ones.

The Grand Rapids Press just ran an article on travel insurance, something I plan to touch upon in the near future as hurricane season kicks off. Feel free to call or e-mail with your stories of how insurance either 1.) saved you some serious loot, or 2.) could've gone to better keychain souvernirs for the in-laws.

At first I thought this was a joke. Nope. If you carry an X chromosome in Saudi Arabia, don't bother learning how to work a stick shift.

My nomination for Jerk Quote of the Day:

"Driving by women leads to evil," Munir al-Shahrani wrote in a letter to the editor of the Al-Watan daily. "Can you imagine what it will be like if her car broke down? She would have to seek help from men."

Barring inclement weather, equipment failures, or other unforeseen problems, work will begin on the following areas during the week of June 6:

CURB LINE MILLING:
- Yanceyville Street from Summit Avenue to Lindsay Street
- Bennett/Dudley Street from East Market Street to East Lee Street
- Dudley Street from East Lindsay Street to Massey Street
- Hassall Street from Gillespie Street to Bingham Street

MANHOLE AND VALVE ADJUSTMENT LOCATIONS:
- Sullivan Street from Cypress Street to Lindsay Street
- Yanceyville Street from Summit Avenue to Lindsay Street
- Dudley Street from East Lindsay Street to Massey Street
- Bennett/Dudley Street from East Market Street to East Lee Street

RESURFACING - ASPHALT TOP PLACEMENT LOCATIONS:
- Old Friendly Road from Friendly Avenue to Radar Road
- Aero Court from Cessna Drive to cul de sac
- Elm Street from Cone Boulevard to Cornwallis Drive
- Grumman Road from Boeing Drive to cul de sac
- Ashebrook Drive from Shelby Drive to Wildberry Drive
- Cranbrook Street from Causey Street to Clifton Road
- Westgate Drive North from West Market Street to Staunton Drive
- Mitchell Street from Muirs Chapel Road to dead end
- Dogwood Drive from Holden Road to Beverly Place

RESURFACING - PATCHING EXSTING STREETS:
- Bywood Road from Bonaire Lane to Woodbriar Avenue
- Meadowview Road East from South Elm-Eugene Street to private property
- Meadowview Loop from 1608 Meadowview Road to 1621 Meadowview Road

Randleman Road will be closed between Ritter's Lake Road and South Elm-Eugene Street on Wednesday.

The road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. so N.C. Department of Transportation work crews can replace a cross line pipe.

Drivers should take Ritter's Lake Road to South Elm-Eugene Street as a detour.

More news you can use. Sounds like the Audi A4 and the Chevrolet Malibu are the safest bets when it comes to T-bone collisions.

From our Web site:

GREENSBORO - Several lanes on West Market Street will be closed Thursday and Friday between Spring Garden Street and Guilford College Road so crews can perform striping work.

The lanes will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Motorists should use caution and expect delays, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The state transportation department will be making various lane closures Monday and Tuesday just west of the Interstate 85 Business interchange on Lee Street. Closures will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for crews to perform work on the South Buffalo Creek bridges.

Use caution when traveling through the area.

Bowman Dairy Road will be closed between Coble Church Road and N.C. 62 until 5 p.m. Friday.

N.C. Department of Transportation work crews need to repair an underground pipeline that crosses under Bowman Dairy Road. Work began at 9 a.m. Monday.

Traffic will be detoured using N.C. 62 to Coble Church Road to Bowman Dairy Road and in the reverse direction.

A story on the N.C. Turnpike Authority meeting Wednesday in Greensboro should have been posted to the blog earlier in the week.

But I was busy tanning, err, burning on the beach and things just fall apart around here when I'm away. (Although I'm pretty certain few people noticed I was gone.)

Anyway, here's your reminder about the meeting, part of which will center on a proposed toll road from Piedmont Triad International Airport to Winston-Salem.

What: N.C. Turnpike Authority meeting.
When: 9 a.m. June 15. Time will be set aside for public comment.
Where: Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation's board room, 7800 Airport Center Drive, Greensboro
Information: N.C. Turnpike Authority or PART.

GREENSBORO - A state panel will examine whether it's feasible to build a toll road between Winston-Salem and the Piedmont Triad International Airport.
The N.C. Turnpike Authority, meeting in Greensboro on Wednesday, voted 6-1 to study a proposed airport connector that would run between a planned beltway in Winston-Salem and PTI. The four- or six-lane road would relieve congestion on Interstate 40.

Several northbound lanes of Interstate 85 Business will be closed just north of Vickery Chapel Road south of Greensboro this weekend so crews can replace overhead signs.

The lanes will be closed Saturday at 8 p.m. until Sunday at 6 a.m.

Greensboro road work for the week of June 20:

RESURFACING - ASPHALT TOP PLACEMENT LOCATIONS
- Bennett Street / Dudley Street from East Market Street to East Lee Street
- Dudley Street from East Lindsay Street to Massey Street
- Hassall Street from Gillespie Street to Bingham Street
RESURFACING - PATCHING EXISTING STREETS:
- Eagle Road from Beechcroft Drive to Stanley Road
- Poinsettia Road from Alma Street to Romaine Street
- Alma Street from Fairfax Road to Poinsettia Road
- Chateau Court from Chateau Drive to cul de sac
- Flagstaff Court from Denver Drive to cul de sac

From Greensboro transportation planner Jeff Sovich:

This is a notice regarding Project U-4015A - Gallimore Dairy Road from NC 68 to I-40 - widening from a 2-lane facility to a 4 and 5 lane facility.

A public information meeting will take place from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 23 at Western Guilford High School, located at 409 Friendway Road in Greensboro. This meeting is being conducted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch. This meeting will have an "open-house" format -- no formal presentation will be conducted, although local and state transportation professionals will be present to provide information and answer questions.

Any one interested in this project and/or adjacent properties is encouraged to attend.

If you are unable to attend, or if you would like more information about this meeting or about project U-4015A, please contact Marie Sutton at (919) 733-7844 extension 262, or mlsutton@dot.state.nc.us

Some new statistics came out Monday regarding road trash -- and those who got caught junking up the highways.

More than 6,600 letters were mailed last year to drivers reported for roadside littering, state officials announced. The count marked a 10 percent increase over 2003.

And when the Highway Patrol kicked off "Operation Litter Sweep" during the last two weeks of April, it issued 143 citations.

On Tuesday and Wednesday night, Interstate 85 Northbound will have various lanes closed at mile marker 123 and 127 so N.C. Department of Transportation crews can install overhead sign supports.
The work will occur each evening between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., concluding early Thursday morning.

Elm-Eugene Street will be closed between Vandalia Road and Elmsley Drive beginning 6 a.m tomorrow until 8 p.m. Wednesday for road construction.
The signed detour route will send southbound Elm-Eugene Street traffic west on Vandalia Drive, south on Randleman Road, east on the new Elmsley Drive and back to Elm-Eugene Street.
The northbound Elm-Eugene Street traffic will detour the reverse of the southbound traffic.
Local Traffic will be able to access Elm-Eugene Street if necessary.

From the Greensboro Department of Transportation

"Edwardia Drive will be closed at Wendover Avenue on Wednesday, June 22 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Also, the westbound right lane of Wendover Avenue will be closed during this time. This closure is necessary for Bell South to relocate some cables.

"Motorist should use caution, follow posted detour routes and slow traveling speed when approaching this area."

Town Creek Road will be closed about 2.1 miles east of River Ridge Road beginning June 27 for about 100 days so a bridge can be replaced.
Detour:NC 14 to Bethlehem Church Road to Moir Mill Road to Quesinberry Road.

GREENSBORO -- Money to build the northern sections of the Urban Loop will not be included in the state's updated road construction plan, potentially leaving a large gap in the road for years across north Greensboro.

Because of a budget crunch, the N.C. Department of Transportation's 2006-2012 draft work schedule delays construction of the last three sections of the loop until after 2012.

What: The state is studying how to connect roads near Piedmont Triad International Airport that will eventually become Interstate 73.
A feasibility study recently began to determine the best way to bring future traffic from the planned N.C. 68/U.S. 220 connector to Interstate 40, roads that are slated to become I-73. Greensboro transportation planners received an update on the study Wednesday.

The path: The state is looking at four roughly 15-mile corridors that I-73 could follow. Two options will be briefly studied, but are likely to be ruled out. The two serious candidates would skirt the edge of the airport and require the state to build a roughly three-mile road.

Why it's needed: Greensboro transportation officials say it is critical to determine the route of I-73 before land is gobbled up by development.
"There's a lot of development and potential development at the airport," said Mike Mills, the lead engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation in Greensboro.

Cost: The cost has not been identified.

Timeline: The study to help determine which path the road should take will last two years. Construction start dates have not been determined.
Local officials hope the state will complete the study more quickly.

- Amy Dominello

Carmon Road will be closed between Knox Road and Painter Lakes Road beginning 8 a.m. Tuesday through 4 p.m. Thursday so crews can replace the existing pipe.
Detour: Knox Road to Bethel Church Road to Painter Lakes Road.

Patterson Avenue will have various lanes closed between High Point Road and Merrit Drive beginning 6 a.m. Monday through Oct. 31, so crews can resurface the roadway.

Spotswood Road will be closed between US 158 and US 220 between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for crews to do resurfacing.

Detour: US 158 to US 220 to Spotswood Road and in the reverse direction.

The City of Greensboro will close various streets in downtown
Greensboro between Saturday and Tuesday for the Fun 4th Festival.
Closings are the following:
JULY 2, BLOCK PARTY CLOSURES from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Summit Avenue between Church Street and Lindsay Street
- Church Street between Summit Avenue and Lindsay Street
- Lindsay Street between Murrow Boulevard and Elm Street

JULY 4, PARADE ROUTE CLOSURES from 8-11 a.m.
- Greene Street from Smith Street to Market Street
- Market Street from Eugene Street to Murrow Boulevard
- Church Street from Washington Street to Summit Avenue
- Lindsay Street from Church Street to Elm Street

JULY 4 AND JULY 5, FESTIVAL CLOSURES from 7-4 a.m.
- Elm Street from Smith Street to Market Street
- Davie Street from Lindsay Street to Market Street
- Church Street from Summit Avenue to Market Street
- Lindsay Street from Elm Street to Murrow Boulevard
- Friendly Avenue from Murrow Boulevard to Greene Street

The City of Greensboro will work on the following areas during the week of July 4:

CURB LINE MILLING
- Bywood Road from Bonaire Lane to Woodbriar Avenue
- Meadowview Road from High Point Road to Hardie Street
- Flagstaff Court from Denver Drive to cul de sac
- Denver Drive from Sacramento Drive to Tulsa Drive

MANHOLE AND VALVE ADJUSTMENT LOCATIONS:
- Darlington Place from Sharonbrook Drive to Armhurst Road
- Bywood Road from Bonaire Lane to Woodbriar Avenue
- Meadowview Road from High Point Road to Hardie Street
- Meadowview Road from South Elm Eugene Street to private property