Interstate 85 widening project near Charlotte gets $100M infusion from the feds
The Biden administration gave a big push to the previously announced widening of Interstate 85 near Charlotte this week, awarding $100 million to the project that aims to ease congestion and reduce wrecks.
The money will help expand a 10-mile stretch west of Charlotte from six to eight lanes, state and federal officials said.
Plans call for adding a lane in each direction from the U.S. 321 interchange in Gastonia, Exit 17, to the N.C. 273 interchange, Exit 27, in Mount Holly, according to the I-85 project page on NCDOT.gov.
The $634 million project is scheduled to begin in 2024 and end in 2030, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Crews also will replace five interchanges, six overpasses and four railroad bridges and build 9 miles of sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use paths crossing over I-85, according to the project page on the U.S. Department of Transportation website.
Fiber optic cable to support rural broadband access will be installed, along with electric vehicle chargers, along I-85 through Gaston and Cleveland counties to the South Carolina line, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced Thursday in a news release about the $100 million grant.
I-85 joined 25 other highway, multi-modal freight and rail projects nationwide awarded a total of $1.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Today we are announcing transformative investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, ports, and rail to improve the way Americans get around and help lower the costs of shipping goods,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the announcement.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 11:38 AM.