Avoid this ‘extremely dangerous’ stretch of I-77/I-485, cops warn bikers. Here’s why.
Huntersville police urge motorcyclists to avoid what they say has become an “extremely dangerous” stretch of Interstates 485 and 77 where the highways intersect north of Charlotte.
At least five bikers crashed in an area of uneven pavement over the past week, including a “brutal fatality” last weekend and “a near fatality today,” police tweeted late Friday. “Spread the word! It is extremely dangerous.”
Police urged motorcyclists to find another route if they normally take the I-485 Outer Loop to the I-77 North ramp.
“There is uneven pavement where you merge onto I77 North in the right lane/shoulder,” the Huntersville Police Department warned in the 9 p.m. tweet. “The uneven pavement continues north past the Hambright Rd exit.”
Saturday morning, an Observer reporter also counted nine fluorescent red “Uneven Pavement” warning signs and one “Uneven Lanes” sign along I-77 South, from the I-485 ramps near Huntersville to the Brookshire Freeway in Charlotte.
Work on I-77 toll lanes continues along that stretch.
As far as improving the uneven pavement cited by Huntersville police and the state’s I-77 warning signs, “the contractor was already paving in that area last weekend, and is continuing to work in that area today,” Jen Thompson, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Charlotte region, said in a statement to The Observer on Saturday. “We are closely monitoring their progress.”
The fatal wreck referred to in the Huntersville police tweet involved a 40-year-old rider who lost control of his motorcycle south of Huntersville on Nov. 9.
Lavar Anthony Penn died on the roadway after being ejected from the motorcycle into traffic, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. He crashed at about 7:15 p.m. on I-77 north, between Gilead Road, Exit 23, in Huntersville and the I-77/I-485 interchange.
The State Highway Patrol is mystified over how Penn lost control, Trooper Ray Pierce told The Observer. No signs of alcohol were found, no one hit the rider and he was not speeding, Pierce said.
Social media reacted with anger and dismay over the uneven pavement.
“I-77 is one of the most poorly designed I have ever driven on,” Stan Widziunas posted on Twitter late Friday. “The toll lanes are a death trap and should be avoided.”
“I77 is terribly unsafe for all motorist, not just motorcycles,” Steve Zook tweeted. “Stay safe everyone.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 12:43 PM.