Traffic
NCDOT meetings: Hwy. 73 widening is a step closer
Nov. 8. NCDOT is holding two public meetings to discuss Hwy. 73 improvements on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at Lake Norman Baptist Church, located at 7921 Sam Furr Road in Huntersville. Total cost: $302 million. Five separate projects between NC 16 in Lincoln County and US 29 in Cabarrus County are planned as well as improving […]
Charlotte workers who didn’t commute last year saved more than $3,000
Jan. 21. Due to the ongoing pandemic, many Americans spent the last year working from home, doing away with commuting and the costs of commuting. How much money did we save in 2021 by not going to the office? Using US Census Bureau and AAA data, Today Testing studied the commute times in 100 US […]
Toll routes yet to prove they can be profitable
Part 2 of 2. By Kate Martin/Carolina Public Press. Toll routes are intended to relieve traffic congestion, but they do so at a cost, which revenues are intended to offset. The Triangle Expressway, which opened between Apex and Durham eight years ago, has been exceeding projected revenues while operating under its annual cost projections. But […]
Do toll lanes really cut congestion?
PART 1 of 2 By Kate Martin/Carolina Public Press North Carolina, like many other states, has gambled on toll roads as a way to reduce congestion. While a relatively recent addition to the state’s highways, some estimates say toll roads in the Triangle and Charlotte areas are drawing more drivers than officials initially predicted. So, […]
Race to finish toll lanes is on; shoulder work begins in 2020
By Dave Vieser. As motorists who ride I-77 already know, there’s plenty of work left to be done on the toll lane project, most especially on the segment between Exit 23 in Huntersville and I-277. Even the open segment between Exits 23 and 36 still requires quite a bit of final paving. Cintra, aka I-77 […]
Puckett will run for his old seat on Meck County Board of Commissioners
July 29. Jim Puckett, the well-known District 1 Mecklenburg County Commissioner, who lost his re-election campaign last year, says he will go after his old seat next year. The president of Electro Painters was exploring a run for Lt. Governor or NC Commissioner of Labor, but ”with the recent irrational and indefensible actions of the Mecklenburg County […]
Toll lanes open with little traffic, little fanfare
June 3. At 8:30 am Monday, traffic was flowing freely at Exit 28 on down to Westmoreland, while hardly any vehicles were traveling southbound in the Express/Toll lanes. After 3 1/2 years of construction, the first stretch of toll lanes is open on a work day. The toll lanes are open from Exit 36 in […]
I-77 advisors express frustration over lack of progress
Feb. 25. By Dave Vieser. Frustrated members of the I-77 Local Advisory Group voiced their concerns loud and clear at the conclusion of their 90 minute meeting with the NCDOT: “Tell us where the obstacles are that are preventing the I 77 toll lane contract from being canceled.” The meeting was billed as an update […]
Uber, Lyft take their toll on mass transit use
May 14. By Dave Vieser. The Northlake Airport Connector bus has been given a reprieve. With Mecklenburg County cutting the subsidy for the Airport Connector Express Route from Northlake Mall to the airport, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) was considering eliminating the 14-mile route, which carries, among others, workers to and from CLT. There […]
I-77 Advisory Group seems to settle on 1 toll lane, 1 GP lane
May 10. By Dave Vieser. In a meeting which consumed barely more than one hour, the members of the I77 Local Advisory Group voiced nearly universal agreement to complete the current construction, then to modify the I-77 expansion in Mecklenburg County from two toll lanes to one general purpose lane and one toll lane. The […]
