I work for NCDOT in the traffic operations center. I do everything from watch traffic cameras, control overhead message signs, dispatch IMAP, record messages in 511, enter the automated messages in 511 and a little bit of everything else in between. Im very familiar with almost every numbered route in the state.

So, any questions anyone has on Highways, routings of highways, road construction, etc, etc feel free to ask! I will try and demystify your questions and DOT logic.

4/3/2014 4:59:41 AM

are you as excited as i am about the I-140 extension? will it alleviate the daily clusterfuck at the battleship? when will it be done?

4/3/2014 6:11:54 AM

Why the hell are you inflicting HOT lanes on I-77 between CLT and LKN? I know this is probably political but seriously, wtf?

[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 7:39 AM. Reason : .]

4/3/2014 7:37:35 AM

What is the point of paying who knows how much money to widen the shoulders for 40+ miles of US64 between Raleigh and Rocky Mount just to call it I-495?

4/3/2014 7:43:54 AM

Do you work in the TMC? It's such an upgrade over the old trailers

I'm not sure what he's doing now, but maybe you know my friend Tyler who was working for the toll road.

How is the work environment? I'm looking to go the faculty route after my transportation PhD next year, but doesn't hurt to know how the public sector is doing.

4/3/2014 7:52:05 AM

Quote :

"What is the point of paying who knows how much money to widen the shoulders for 40+ miles of US64 between Raleigh and Rocky Mount just to call it I-495?"

I take that road to I-95 often, and had no idea this was something about to be done.

ben94gt, I've got a question for you. Who do I contact at the DOT about asinine intersection traffic flow?

For instance the intersection of Chapanoke Drive and Wilmington Street is just plain stupid (if you're coming from the west on Chapanoke). The majority of traffic leaving Chapanoke turns left onto Wilmington Street. And yet there's no left turn signal. Additionally, the intersection could easily accommodate 2 left turn lanes. Who do I bitch to about that?

Or the new traffic light at the end of Pullen where it meets Western and you want to make a left. There didn't use to be a light there but now there is, and it takes a good 2 - 2 1/2 minutes for the light to change for you. Seems like that light should be more intelligent, or deactivated at night and just flash amber.

4/3/2014 8:21:39 AM

I notice that in Cary all the traffic lights let the people going straight/right go before the people turning left. Most everywhere else the people turning left get the green arrow before the people going straight. Why do they do it backwards in Cary? What is the added benefit?

Also, often in Cary I'll have to wait through more than a typical full light cycle to get a green arrow. E.g.

1) Pull up to an intersection to make a left turn, the light is red.
2) The people going straight through the intersection get the green before I do.
3) After they're done I don't get a green, the people on the intersecting road get the green. Both people going straight and people turning left.
4) The people going straight through the intersection GET THE GREEN AGAIN.
5) I finally get a green.

I'd understand if no one was waiting at the light but when this crap goes down there's always a long line because people waiting to turn left often have watched everyone else get TWO greens before they get ONE.

I've also seen a lot of inefficiency when waiting on Cary lights where only one group gets a green at a time. Like instead of allowing the two oncoming lanes going straight at the intersection to have a green light at the same time the lights are rigged to only give a green to one side at a time. It's an unnecessary complication that's added as a result of departing from the traditional left hand turners go first system that seems to work fine everywhere else.

Waiting on a green light to turn left in Cary makes me

I'm pretty sure they've synched the lights up to ensure that people catch most of them red as well. I think the goal is to keep traffic moving through there as slowly as possible.

[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 8:53 AM. Reason : -]

4/3/2014 8:44:03 AM

At the end of 147 if you turn left to get on I-540 going north, the road does not have enough camber and gets very slick when its wet or icy. I don't really have a question, but someone needs to fix that.

4/3/2014 8:53:16 AM

What is the status of the Toll Road to Nowhere around Gaston County. Has it been nixed?

4/3/2014 12:38:30 PM

Are some signaled intersections using visual cue sensors for automated signal changes? A newish intersection near me doesn't seem to have the in-ground sensors, but there is something sticking up above the signals, so I figured it may be a visual sensor instead of a impulse sensor. What's the range on those things? Can anything be done to increase/improve the visual window and/or the timing? The intersection I'm talking about is never busy and turning traffic always has to sit and wait a minute before the light changes. It's very annoying to be going 60 MPH down an empty 4 lane road, then slow down and stop for the automated light, just to speed back up to get on the interstate.

4/3/2014 12:41:33 PM

Do emergency vehicles still use IR strobes to trigger light changes? Can I get caught if I make one?

4/3/2014 12:44:53 PM

Does(did) those actually exist? I don't know if I've ever witnessed such an event. Always seen emergency vehicles run red lights.

4/3/2014 12:49:26 PM

yeah, and you'll see the receiver sitting on top of one of the lights in a lot of intersections
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_signal_preemption
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Millersville_opticom.jpg

4/3/2014 12:56:23 PM

well, I'll be. Never noticed those, of course, the ones around here may look different from those.

4/3/2014 12:59:02 PM

Quote :

"Do emergency vehicles still use IR strobes to trigger light changes? Can I get caught if I make one?"

I don't know about that. However flashing your high beams very quickly can work to trigger the same response.

4/3/2014 1:03:13 PM

if you set your car horn to play "Dixie", ramps will spring up out of the ground and you can just jump over intersections

4/3/2014 1:05:29 PM

Quote :

" of course, the ones around here may look different from those."

i haven't seen that exact model, but now that you know what to look for you will notice similar looking things on lots of intersections. i think they work in the 10hz or 14hz range, i know my laser detector has been triggered a couple times by emergency vehicles.

googled it:
yep, 10hz and 14hz
http://www.gtt.com/wp-content/uploads/76-1000-1147-0_A-792M-Product-Data-Sheet.pdf
i wonder if its possible to get caught



[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 1:18 PM. Reason : .]

4/3/2014 1:16:31 PM

so many questions, so little answers

4/3/2014 2:23:21 PM

4/3/2014 2:28:14 PM

Traffic Wave

http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/11/12/traffic-waves

[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 2:43 PM. Reason : f]

4/3/2014 2:43:29 PM

State employee fails to follow through on promise, film at 11:00.

[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 3:05 PM. Reason : e]

4/3/2014 3:05:21 PM

Can you fix the big hole when you turn left off Glenwood on to Glen Eden???? I knocked my Honda out of alignment trying to make it beat a yellow light there.

4/3/2014 3:07:38 PM

Uh guys, maybe he's busy at work and is waiting until he gets off of work before he spends time addressing your questions?

4/3/2014 3:18:08 PM

State employee busy at work? Ha.

4/3/2014 4:27:50 PM

Do you subscribe to all stereotypes?

4/3/2014 4:49:38 PM

Where is the longest straight section of road near Raleigh that has little to no traffic/cop prescience. And it needs to have a nice blacktop, I cant hook on potholes.

4/3/2014 4:53:06 PM

go to a track, asshole

4/3/2014 6:00:10 PM

lol, he drives a G8

and talks about it constantly

4/3/2014 6:32:37 PM

A Pontiac? ahahahaha.

4/3/2014 6:39:00 PM

^^ that's pretty much all he talks about.
^ inorite?

4/3/2014 6:42:08 PM

AHAHA, I love this thread.

And this thread: http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=641563

And this ass gif: http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=610459&page=140

[Edited on April 3, 2014 at 6:46 PM. Reason : I love everything!]

4/3/2014 6:45:40 PM

Wow, there are a lot more questions than I thought there would be!

NeuseRvrRat: I-140 is going to be completed between US 17 in Brunswick County and US 74/76 near Leland before it connects to the other piece of I-140 that ends at 421. So I think the battleship area congestion is going to continue for a few more years. I know that piece in Brunswick County is not far from completion though. I think it should open sometime around the 1st of June.

Scottncst8: I believe the HOT lanes are just a study at this point in time and are not definite. Its because the Lake Norman area is way too overdeveloped and there isint enough revenue to just make I-77 12 lanes wide between Uptown and there, so those that use it for daily commuting are going to have to pony up for the quicker ride basically.

Sweden: From what I understand, those that are higher up in the food chain as well as local planning organizations believe that if you slap an interstate sign on a road all of a sudden its an economic boost, as if people dont use roads that arent interstates. I question that line of thinking myself.

rtc407: I do work in the TMC. I dont know anyone named Tyler on the turnpike side though. The work environment is....interesting? There are some people over here that make doing your job challenging, ill put it that way.

TKE: Talk to division 5 traffic services. They have 2 office numbers, both are listed under division traffic in the division 5 subsection of the DOT directory, which is on the website.

Jbtilley: Thats all the city of cary. They are pretty infuriating.

packfootball: I believe the SLEC, same people filing the lawsuit over the Bonner Bridge, have filed a lawsuit against that road, so its in limbo in court at the moment.

Traffic light questions: Im not sure what they use for tripping the lights at all the intersections, Im not a signal tech.

St8Bacardi: Call the wake county maintenance yard: 733-4768.

BlackJesus: Toll 540 after 11:30 PM

4/3/2014 6:55:25 PM

yeah, i should've specified the portion between 421 and leland

4/3/2014 7:01:17 PM

when are you going to finish 485, motherfucker

4/3/2014 7:12:24 PM

Quote :

"Im not sure what they use for tripping the lights at all the intersections, Im not a signal tech."

Great, another state employee that is useless to the public.

JK man, I like this thread. Just trolling. I worked at the DOT (hydraulics unit) for a bit and thoroughly enjoyed it.

4/3/2014 7:13:23 PM

Quote :

"What is the status of the Toll Road to Nowhere around Gaston County. Has it been nixed?"

It isn't dead, but it was put back into general pool of DOT funding and no longer has any priority status.

Quote :

"I notice that in Cary all the traffic lights let the people going straight/right go before the people turning left. Most everywhere else the people turning left get the green arrow before the people going straight. Why do they do it backwards in Cary? What is the added benefit?"

This is called a "Lagging" left turn. This is used typically to aid in coordinating signals on the main line to allow more traffic to flow through the main line with less stops. Also, it allows the left turn lane to fill up as through traffic passes it and the left lane does not get blocked when the through movement stops.

Quote :

"Also, often in Cary I'll have to wait through more than a typical full light cycle to get a green arrow."

An actuated turn movement can be set with a longer "Presence" time. So, you might have to inside the loop's field and detected for 6-8 seconds before you vehicles presence is validated. If you arrive with less than 6-8 sec before the scheduled start of the left turn movement the phase will be skipped and you have to wait another phase.

Quote :

"I've also seen a lot of inefficiency when waiting on Cary lights where only one group gets a green at a time. Like instead of allowing the two oncoming lanes going straight at the intersection to have a green light at the same time the lights are rigged to only give a green to one side at a time. It's an unnecessary complication that's added as a result of departing from the traditional left hand turners go first system that seems to work fine everywhere else."

This called "Split" phasing and is used where the side streets are scewed at sharp angles that can result in angle crashes and where traffic on one or both side streets is very low. If one side is low the the phase can be skipped altogether and the signal can operate more efficiently.

Hope that helps guys. Once again private sector has to pick up the slack for the government.

4/3/2014 7:18:42 PM

Quote :

"For instance the intersection of Chapanoke Drive and Wilmington Street is just plain stupid (if you're coming from the west on Chapanoke). The majority of traffic leaving Chapanoke turns left onto Wilmington Street. And yet there's no left turn signal. Additionally, the intersection could easily accommodate 2 left turn lanes. Who do I bitch to about that?"

Fuck yes. Make it a double left and a right+straight with those three lanes. Not to mention the curbing fucked that intersection up worse.

4/3/2014 7:48:50 PM

The end of 140 where it crosses 421 is an incomplete overpass. There are no barriers other than some signs. How much trouble would I get in if I put a brick on the accelerator of a beat up car and drove it off the end (recording the results for scientific purposes of course). I wonder how fast it would go if I started on the downhill slope of the Dan Cameron bridge

4/3/2014 8:29:34 PM

Quote :

"A Pontiac? ahahahaha."

And whats wrong with it? More than a little jealously itt. The last I checked tge gaeage is to talk about what you have done to/with your car. Not to talk about cars ypu dream about. Now make up a story about how awesome your 96 civic is.

4/3/2014 9:29:43 PM

Why do the DOT ID badges look like they were made 20 years ago?

4/3/2014 9:35:49 PM

yes we are jealous of a 4000 pound car with between 260 - 420hp, and was so popular it was only produced two years.

4/3/2014 9:48:02 PM

are diverging diamonds here to stay? I want more

4/3/2014 9:58:21 PM

No we, just you and your 80hp civic

4/3/2014 9:59:54 PM

Sounds like BlackJesus has the perfect car for my "experiment".

4/3/2014 10:19:27 PM

What are the small brown numbers signs on the side of 40 west, west of asheville

4/3/2014 10:21:39 PM

Looks like 5, 6, 7, 8, and possibly 9

4/3/2014 10:31:32 PM

why are they considering building the toll road to nowhere around gaston county? I-77 and I-485 are the bottlenecks.

4/3/2014 11:24:47 PM

Quote :

"are diverging diamonds here to stay? I want more"

Yes, because they are a cheap retro-fit vs bridge deck widening. They save $millions in construction costs.

4/3/2014 11:44:04 PM

Im not asking any questions, but i just wanted to say that your new regulations on truck drivers are suffocating the industry and killing one of the mainstays that runs business in this country.

4/4/2014 12:25:28 AM

look trucks add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere that causes global warming that will cause earth to die.

4/4/2014 1:08:40 AM