NCDOT to open I-485 toll lanes by late summer 2025 + 4 other major Charlotte-area projects
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says it will open express lanes on Interstate 485 to traffic by late summer 2025.
The project will add an express lane in each direction on I-485 between I-77 and U.S. 74 (Independence Boulevard), as well as a general-purpose lane each way between Rea Road and Providence Road.
Construction began on the I-485 lanes in 2019 and initially was set to finish by 2022. The latest completion date is different than what the state lists on its project website, which says the lanes could open later this year.
The project has a total cost of $346 million. Besides the express lanes, it also includes interchange improvements at John Street, a new interchange at Weddington Road and a bridge widening at Ballantyne Commons Parkway, NCDOT spokesperson Jen Goodwin said. The bridge widening is complete, but the other two projects are not, she said.
Here’s a list of other anticipated road projects across the Charlotte region:
I-85 widening in Gaston County
The Gaston County I-85 widening will expand an often-clogged stretch of highway between Gastonia and other Gaston county towns.
The widening, set to be completed in 2030, affects 10 miles of interstate from the U.S. 321 interchange (Exit 17) in Gastonia to the N.C. 273 interchange (Exit 27) in Mount Holly. The project will update interchanges and widen the road from six to eight lanes.
“It also affects all the structures, all the overpasses in that corridor,” Goodwin told The Observer. “And it also affects a couple railroad overpasses too. It requires a lot of coordination with other agencies, and also communication with all the towns that are going to be affected along the corridor too.”
The total cost is $634.8 million. The design-build phase will begin in late 2025. The project will be completed in 2030, according to the DOT’s latest estimates.
I-85/I-485 interchange west of Charlotte
These interchange improvements intend to improve traffic flow and connectivity on I-485’s off-ramps and the southbound lanes on I-85 South.
North Carolina House speaker Tim Moore in November announced the allocation of contingency funds to speed up the interstate’s redesign. Moore called it one of the most congested interchanges in North Carolina. Earlier this year, NCDOT said drivers should expect a year of detours when the construction starts.
Construction will begin in fall 2025, with an anticipated completion date in fall 2028, according to NCDOT. The total project cost is $45 million.
U.S. 74 (Independence Boulevard) widening project
This widening project will start near Idlewild Road in Charlotte and end at I-485 in Matthews. The project will add one express and one general purpose lane each way. A 100-foot wide median on I-485 at the U.S. 74 interchange was built to accept a direct connect flyover into the toll lanes from U.S. 74, according to a statement from NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama.
The project, set to begin construction in 2027, also includes improvements on roads parallel to U.S. 74 to reduce congestion. NCDOT held a public meeting on the project a few weeks ago, and over 180 people attended, Goodwin said.
The total cost is between $905 and $958 million, but the cost is subject to change as NCDOT moves through project development, spokesperson Jen Goodwin told The Charlotte Observer earlier this summer.
N.C. 73 improvements
NCDOT will widen multi-mile stretches of N.C. 73 on either side of Interstate 77.
In Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, it will widen a 14-mile stretch of N.C. 73 between N.C. 115 (Old Statesville Road) and U.S. 29 (Concord Parkway North). Then, in Mecklenburg and Lincoln Counties, it also will widen an 8.5-mile stretch of N.C. 73 from N.C. 16 in Lincoln County to Northcross Drive in Huntersville.
The 14-mile stretch’s construction will begin in summer 2026, and a completion date is undetermined. The 8.5-mile stretch’s construction is divided into three smaller segments, which all start construction at different times. The earliest is in summer 2026, and the latest is summer 2029.
The completion dates for both projects are still undetermined.
“It needs to be widened, because as you drive along, you notice there’s more development happening,” Goodwin said. “I saw some more apartments under construction, more single family homes under construction. It’s definitely something that we have to, we have to address, because it’s going to continue to get congested.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
