Learning to love a new geographic feature on Raleigh’s horizon - Mount Beltline | Opinion
Who do we thank? That was the thought running through my head as an elite group of sharp minds — OK, the lollygaggers in the shallow end of the pool at the North Carolina State University Club on a blazing Saturday afternoon — opined on the new geographic feature on the horizon.
That feature of course, is what we have dubbed “Mount Beltline.” After months of grumbling, cursing and general vitriol flung in the direction of NCDOT and its I-440 widening project, — not least for eating and digesting our skinny strip of forest and four of our cherished golf holes, making our already modest par three “golf course” a laughable five-hole sandlot — what seems to be a bit of a miracle has occurred.
The Interstate 440 widening project, a 4-mile, $475 million miracle of highway construction and commuter convenience, has so far dealt the NCSU faculty club a bum hand — and a lot of dirt and dust.
All in the pool agreed that the recently formed, 30-plus-foot tall mound of dirt at the Hillsborough Street off-ramp was a godsend. “Blocks all the noise.” “It’s greening up — we should plant flowers in a big red S.” “How about a water slide?’” And, “Now Raleigh has a mountain!”
Those were just some of the comments that sprung from the brain trust.
In truth, the mound does completely block the buzz of the beltline from the eyes and ears of tennis players, swimmers, loungers and kids at summer camp. I would imagine it blocks many of the tailpipe leftovers, as well. And, it has indeed sprouted a full beard, offering a strange but not unwelcome respite of green from the vast concrete valley beyond.
More from the committee of lollygaggers: “Wonder if we could ask to have them leave it there?” “Maybe it’s permanent — that’s a lot of dirt to move — again.” “Who would we thank? The governor? Pete Buttigieg? A bulldozer operator who got lazy?”
Hard to say, but if you are listening, NCDOT, we, the elite members of the shallow end league would be most grateful if you could see your way clear to make Mount Beltline a permanent feature of your west Raleigh lunar landscape plan.
Now that commuting is joining the ranks of the jitterbug and flagpole sitting in the bin of extinct national crazes, perhaps we can start a trend — overblown highway projects that double as tourist attractions?
Hey, how about mule rides to the bottom of a newly branded “Western Boulevard Canyon?” Hotter than the real Grand Canyon, and only minutes from dining, shopping, and RDU. Or, how about “The Wade Avenue loop de Loop” — soar over the world’s most over-designed...whatever it is.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The league needs time to fully vet such additional profound insights, most probably next Saturday at the earliest. Meanwhile, if you can just save Mount Beltline, you will not only get a big thank-you from all of us, we will also pass the swim cap and pitch in for rose bushes to form the big red “S.”