$640 million superhighway will ease Charlotte-area traffic woes, NCDOT says
THIS ARTICLE WAS UPDATED AT 4:30 P.M. THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2023, WITH NEW INFORMATION FROM THE N.C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REGARDING THE PROJECT COST AND FUNDING.
Planning and design work has begun for a $640-million, four-lane superhighway spanning three counties in the Lake Norman area, state highway officials said this week.
Expanding N.C. 73 from Lincoln County at the lake into Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties is vital to handling up to a 60%-percent increase in traffic expected by 2040, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials say.
“As the only Catawba River crossing between N.C. 150 (in Mooresville) and N.C. 16 (in eastern Lincoln County, not including Denver), N.C. 73 is a regionally important route,” NCDOT says on the project page.
The construction plan includes six projects along nearly 16 miles of N.C. 73, including one to improve the I-77 Exit 25 interchange at N.C. 73/Sam Furr Road near Birkdale Village in Huntersville.
Three of the projects call for an 8.5-mile, $303-million widening of N.C. 73 from N.C. 16 in Lincoln County to Northcross Drive in Huntersville.
Construction of that leg is expected to start in 2026, with the completion date still to be determined, according to NCDOT.
Those projects are listed and funded in NCDOT’s 2026-2035 long-range transportation plan, called the State Transportation Improvement Program, officials said.
Planning and design work also is underway to widen a 4.9-mile stretch from N.C. 115 (Old Statesville Road) in Huntersville to just east of Poplar Tent Road in Cabarrus County.
That part of the work will be done in two separate projects, with the first going to construction in 2026 and the remaining section, Davidson- Concord Road to Poplar Tent Road, beginning in 2027, according to NCDOT.
Both completion dates are undetermined at this point, and both projects are funded for $106 million, state highway officials said Thursday.
The remaining portion of N.C. 73 that continues to U.S. 29 is not yet funded for construction, according to NCDOT.
NCDOT has scheduled open house meetings to update residents on its plans to widen N.C. 73 from two lanes into a four-lane divided highway, which take place Tuesday, Nov. 14 from 2-4 p.m and 5-7 p.m., at Lake Norman Baptist Church, 7921 Sam Furr Road in Huntersville.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 12:08 PM.