STEELE CREEK NEWS

NCDOT is Accepting Comments on Local Input for Potential Hwy 160 Funding

(July 17, 2014) Highway and other transportation projects in the Charlotte area will be evaluated for inclusion in the next Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) under the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) Law based on project score totals, which include the following:

• Data-Driven Quantitative Scores developed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) (70%)

• Local Input Points assigned by the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) (15%)

• Local Input Points assigned by the NCDOT Division 10 Engineer (15%)

Both CRTPO and NCDOT Division 10 have prepared draft lists that include assigning the maximum available Local Input Points to two projects within Steele Creek:

1) Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) from Shopton Road West to S Tryon Street - ID H111172-B - Widen to multi-lanes including bike lanes and sidewalks - $38,965,000.

2) Intersection of Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) and Hamilton Road - ID H142094 - Widen intersection of NC Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) and Hamilton Road for additional capacity consistent with the future Steele Creek Rd cross section - $1,628,000.

(NCDOT Division 10 had originally planned not to assign points to the Hamilton Road intersection project, but the Division 10 Ranking List presented at the July 15 public meeting did include the maximum available points for this project.)

For these two projects to continue through the evaluation and funding process, it is crucial that both CRTPO and NCDOT Division 10 retain their plans to assign Local Input Points to them. If either organization fails to assign Local Input Points to a project, that project likely will drop from consideration for funding in the next five-year cycle.

CRTPO is still accepting comments to their local input points allocation until July 21. See Comment Period is Open on Local Input for Hwy 160 Funding. (As of July 16, they had received a total of 25 responses, and approximately 80% of the comments were in support of Steele Creek Road projects.)

NCDOT Division 10 is now accepting comments to their draft point distribution through August 15. Steele Creek residents are encouraged to provide comments in support of the two Steele Creek Road projects still under consideration.

For more information, see the NCDOT web page on Strategic Transportation Investments - Public Workshops/Meetings. Scroll down to Division 10. See Division 10 Ranking (Draft) and Division 10 Methodology.

You may download and fill out the STI Comment Card and email it to strategicplanning@ncdot.gov or print it out, fill it out, and mail it to

Stuart Basham
Division 10 Planning Engineer
716 West Main Street
Albemarle, NC 28001

(Note that you can comment on both the methodology for assigning points as well as the point distribution.)

NCDOT is expected to release its draft FY 2016-2020 TIP by the end of 2014. This will list projects that NCDOT will plan to undertake by 2020. Funding is not guaranteed for any project that is currently under consideration, but both Steele Creek road projects still have a good chance for inclusion.

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