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Four major fireworks displays in the Charlotte area could produce traffic troubles tonight, but law enforcement agencies and the N.C. Department of Transportation promise they'll do their best to keep everything moving.
The fireworks displays are scheduled for:
-- Uptown Charlotte, staged at the CPCC campus.
-- Carowinds.
-- Knights Castle (off Interstate 77, near Fort Mill).
-- Buster Boyd Bridge, on N.C. 49 at the state line.
Jen Thompson, of the N.C. Department of Transportation, said the DOT will join with the Highway Patrol of both states and local law enforcement agencies to keep a smooth flow.
Here are some tips from the N.C. DOT, Charlotte city officials, and other agencies:
UPTOWN CHARLOTTE
Parking will be available at the Memorial Stadium lot, for $5. You can enter the lot off 7th Street. Other parking will be available in decks around the Uptown area. Parking is not allowed on many neighborhood streets and is discouraged in the Elizabeth, First Ward, Third Ward and Fourth Ward areas.
If you are in the eastern part of the city and can see the skyline, you should be able to see the fireworks.
Extra police will be on patrol to help keep traffic moving.
CAROWINDS
The N.C. DOT will use overhead and portable message signs to advise motorists of travel conditions.
Motorists might encounter delays near the Carowinds theme park due to special events at the Plaza Fiesta shopping center across from Carowinds.
After the fireworks display, motorists leaving Carowinds will be required to turn right on Carowinds Boulevard, to N.C. 49. If they want to get on northbound I-77, motorists should take N.C. 49 north to Westinghouse Boulevard and turn right. I-77 can be reached off Westinghouse Boulevard.
No U-turns will be permitted on Carowinds Boulevard.
And authorities say they might permit only local traffic to use Choate Circle.
KNIGHTS CASTLE
Motorists leaving the stadium after WBT's Skyshow will exit via the main gate, or on Springfield Parkway behind the stadium. Springfield Parkway traffic will empty onto U.S. 21 (Carowinds Boulevard). Motorists can turn left, to get on I-77, or they can turn right to reach S.C. 160.
BUSTER BOYD BRIDGE
Spectators will not be permitted to park on the bridge over Lake Wylie. And access to Choate Circle will be limited, officials advise.
Motorists returning to the Charlotte are advised to use N.C. 49 to N.C. 160, or Westinghouse Boulevard.
