This report is from the return trip back to Mayport, FL from Norfolk, VA, on August 12, 2003.


A run to Norfolk, Phase 3 (the return to Mayport)

Last of the reports.....made it from Virginia Beach back to Mayport in a 1-day trip here. A few quick notes:

- On US 13/58/460, just east of the "Suffolk Bypass split", at the at-grade intersection to access a nearby landfill, there is construction going on which slightly shifts the westbound lanes inward, and closes the right shoulder. According to a recent "Roadwarrior" column in the Pilot, this construction is for some sort of "flyover" for traffic outbound from the landfill to access eastbound 13/58/460 without having to cross the westbound lanes at-grade.

- US 13 is fully signed on the Suffolk Bypass now. On a similar note, US 258 has replaced VA 260 on the recently completed connector east of Franklin, and US 258 once again is duplexed with its parent route.  New BGS have gone up at the VA 189/US 258 North interchange on US 58.

- Generally uneventful out to Emporia and then south on I-95.

- A couple of construction zones on I-95 in North Carolina have traffic down to 1 lane. Don't recall where one was, but the other is related to the Fayetteville Outer Loop construction (of which bridge abutments and flyover piers have been completed at I-95, but no bridge beams yet.)

- No chicken fat for me!

- Didn't fully clinch I-95 in NC. Once I got to Fayetteville, I hopped on NC 87 south, then west on NC 20 back to I-95, in order to clinch an extra county. Had a passenger with me, so this was the extent of my "side trips".

- Lots of advertisements for "South of the Border". Even a BGS approaching Exit 1AB directing "South of the Border" traffic to use Exit 1A.

- SCDOT is widening I-95 through Florence...from the northern outskirts south to I-20. An interesting traffic setup. The northbound lanes appear to be mostly completed, and northbound traffic has 2 lanes using these. Southbound traffic has an interesting split, with "through traffic" directed to an "express lane" sort of setup, using the rest of the future northbound lanes pavement, while "local/interchange traffic" uses a single open lane along the existing southbound track. All interchange ramps were open (albeit a few at some really odd angles) at the time I passed through.

- Aside from heavy traffic, things remained relatively uneventful the rest of the way into the Jacksonville area.

- Eastbound BGS at the western FL A1A/FL 10 junction make no mention of FL A1A continuing east along FL 10....the same as with the southbound BGS that I noticed last week.
 

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