STEELE CREEK NEWS
Residents Learn about
Highway Plans at Annual Meeting

(February
24, 2018) Stuart Basham (slbasham@ncdot.gov) presented an update on the highway projects
in Steele Creek planned by the North Carolina Department of
Tansporation (NCDOT) at the 2018 Steele Creek Residents Association
Annual Meeting on February 22. Mr. Basham is Planning Engineer for Division
10, which includes Mecklenburg County and four other area counties.
He discussed three upcoming projects as well as others
competinig for funding:
NC 160/Hamilton Road Intersection Improvements
Design is
complete for this $1.5 million dollar project, which is consistent
with the future widening of Highway 160 to four lanes with turn
lanes and sidewalks. The Right Of Way has
been acquired, and utilities are currently being moved. They expect
to let the contract for construction in late March. Work will begin
at the end of April, with completion by the end of September 2018.
This project should
alleviate backups caused by traffic waiting to turn left onto
Hamilton Rd, as well as eliminate the use of the southbound right
turn lane as a straight through/passing on the right lane.
NC 160 Widening Project
This is a $60 million dollar,
6.85 mile long project that extends from I-485 down to the South
Carolina state line. Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) will be widened
to four lanes with sidewalks, bike lanes, and turn lanes.
The
environmental document is underway, and NCDOT is currently reviewing
concept designs. Design activities will continue throughout this
year, with Right Of Way plans being completed by June 2019. The
contract should be let in June 2021.
The good news is that
this project has been moving up steadily on the highway projects
schedule, and it now includes the entire length of the highway from
I-485 south to the state line. Previously the part south of Highway
49 had been scheduled for a later start. At
the 2013 Residents Association meeting, planners said that widening
Highway 160 wasn't on the lastest Long Range Transportation Plan,
which went through 2035. So the project has moved up at least 14
years in the last 5 years.
The bad news is that construction
will take about three and a half years. So plan on more traffic woes
before relief is achieved.
Public meetings for the NC 160
widening project are likely next fall or winter.
Zoar Rd/Youngblood Road Roundabout
This project was just
funded this past fall. Design activities will begin later this year,
and NCDOT will begin Right Of Way acquisition in May 2019. They
should let the contract for construction in May 2020. Construction
should take about 3 to 4 months.
Projects currently competing for funding
The following projects
in or near Steele Creek are currently being reviewed
for possible funding. See the
2045 Metropolitan
Transportation Plan being developed by the
Charlotte Regional
Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) for more information.
- I-485 Exit 1 (Hwy 49/S Tryon St) Interchange Improvements
- I-485 Exit 64 (Hwy 51/Pineville-Matthew Rd) Interchange Improvements In Pineville
- I-485 Express Lanes From I-77 to I-85
- I-485/I-85 Interchange Improvements In West Charlotte
- Widen NC 49 From I-485 To NC 160 to six lanes
- Widen NC 49 From I-485 To Arrowood Road to six lanes
- New Carowinds Blvd Extension From NC 49 west to NC 160
- Widen Westinghouse Blvd From NC 49 To Nations Ford Road to
six lanes
- Add one lane westbound on I-85 From Sam Wilson Road To The Gaston County Line
See the presentation slides below, or cick here:
North Carolina Department of Transportation Presentation,
to view and download a PDF version of the presentation. Also see
Highway Planning 101.














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