Speedway traffic tips: Trust police, avoid I-85

Posted: Friday, Oct. 12, 2012

More Information

Area traffic reports
I-85, speedway tips

Officials from the N.C. Highway Patrol, the N.C. Department of Transportation and Charlotte Motor Speedway offer these tips for motorists:

FRIDAY

Race fans should try to arrive at the track before 5 p.m. to avoid the heaviest commuter traffic.

Counter-flow measures (reversing the flow of some lanes) probably will not be used after the race.

Concord Mills shoppers will have a difficult time crossing the I-85 bridge (to reach restaurants and hotels) between 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Northbound commuters on I-85 can expect stop-and-go traffic after 4 p.m. Try to use the left lane, and try to leave work early, if possible.

SATURDAY

Race fans should arrive early to avoid congestion around Concord Mills. Parking lots open at 7 a.m.

After the race, counter-flow measures will be in place. Morehead Road will have three eastbound lanes to Harrisburg. Bruton Smith Boulevard also will have three lanes headed to I-85. U.S. 29 will have three northbound lanes to Pitt School Road. And West Morehead Road/Mallard Creek Church Road will have counter-flow to Salem Church Road.

Concord Mills shoppers should expect heavy traffic after 3 p.m. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to cross the I-85 bridge eastbound after about 4 to 5 p.m.

Renaissance Festival visitors are encouraged to exit I-85 at N.C. 73, not at Poplar Tent Road, which is a heavily used interchange for speedway traffic.

State transportation officials and the N.C. Highway Patrol have some advice for anyone driving near Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of NASCAR races Friday and Saturday nights:

Ignore your intuition.

Oh ... and stay off Interstate 85 around the speedway, if you can.

“If you’re coming to the races, just follow our directions,” says N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Glenn Stokes. “We’ll get you home the quickest way possible.

“It might not seem right, the way we’re directing you, but trust us. We know what we’re doing.”

Stokes said troopers who direct traffic after the races might send motorists away from the speedway in a different direction from how they arrived. But eventually, he said, they’ll get to where they want to be – and probably a lot quicker than if they tried to reverse course.

Otherwise, the advice for people who are coming to the races or just driving on I-85 either Friday or Saturday evenings is to plan on delays – and avoid the interstate if possible.

“Obviously, many motorists will be using I-85 on Friday evening for their commute home,” says Ann Lorscheider, regional engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation. “Those people can expect heavy traffic, with the addition of the race fans.”

But she says people headed to Charlotte Motor Speedway can avoid the I-85 congestion, which reaches a peak from I-485 north to Concord. The congestion is worsened by the I-85 widening project, which has caused some lane restrictions.

Those coming from the north should exit at U.S. 29/601 in Concord, she said. And those coming from the south should get off I-85 at either Harris Boulevard or Mallard Creek Church Road, turn right, and eventually get on U.S. 29 North.

“(U.S.) 29 is the best way to get here,” says Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Adrian Parker.

Stokes says motorists who arrive at the speedway from the south might be sent north on U.S. 29 after the race. He encourages fans to follow troopers’ directions, because they’ll eventually be directed onto southbound I-85 and avoid the congestion at the Bruton Smith Boulevard interchange.