STEELE CREEK NEWS
Highway 160
Projects Move up on Funding Schedule Public Comment Period is Open
(July 1, 2015)
Two Highway 160 construction projects have moved up in the schedule
in the
State
Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP), which was approved by
the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in early June.
Funding is now committed on these projects, with right-of-way
acquisition
expected to begin within the next five year period.
Project |
Start Date in
Draft STIP December 2014 |
Start Date in Approved STIP
June 2015 |
Improvements to
Highway 160/Hamilton Road Intersection |
2019 |
2018 |
Widening
Highway 160 from Shopton Road W to S
Tryon Street |
2022 |
2020 |
A third Highway 160 project
will be evaluated for prioritization for possible inclusion in the
next round of funding.
The two Highway
160 projects
included in the funding plan are listed on Page 19 of the
Division 10 STIP.
Intersection of Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) and Hamilton Road
Widen
intersection of NC Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) and Hamilton Road
for additional capacity consistent with the future Steele Creek Road
cross section.
FY 2018 - Right-of-Way acquisition - $315,000 FY 2020 -
Construction - $1,300,000
This project was added to the initial
Draft TIP by the local NCDOT office after the widening of Highway 160
from S Tryon Street to the South Carolina line did not score
sufficiently for funding consideration. The conditions at this
intersection allowed it to score high on its own merit.
NCDOT staff recognized that this was a high-priority project, and they were able to move the project forward.
The project will include widening Highway 160 to the north and south
of Hamilton Road for a sufficient distance to provide lanes adequate
to handle traffic turning onto Hamilton Road.
Some turn lanes were added last year by a
developer.
Lennar Homes will be required to make additional
improvements due to the increased traffic expected to be generated
by a new residential development to the east around River
Gate Elementary School.
The Lennar property includes over 350
acres zoned for 3 houses per acre and could possibly accommodate over 1000
homes (See area shaded in purple to the right.)
Lennar will be required to construct a left turn lane on southbound
Highway 160 and restripe the southbound right turn lane as a through right. The northbound approach will mirror
the southbound. Also an eastbound left turn lane on Hamilton will be constructed. This work is considered a part
of their phase II requirements and will occur before the 101st subdivision lot is sold.
Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) from Shopton Road W to S Tryon Street
This 4.2 mile widening project extends along Steele
Creek Rd from Shopton Rd West to South Tryon St (NC Highway 49) in
Charlotte. Improvements include widening the existing roadway from
two (2) lanes to four (4) lanes and installing bike lanes and
sidewalks.
FY 2020 - Right-of-Way
acquisition $3,100,00
Utility relocation $4,600,000 FY
2022 - Construction $15,650,000 FY
2023 - Construction $15,650,000
Charlotte Regional Planning Organization (CRTPO) and NCDOT-Division 10
staff emphasized that it
was very important to have the Highway 160 widening project as a committed project (in the first five years of the
STIP), and the schedule was accelerated to have right-of-way acquisition occur in 2020.
Projects scheduled to start after the first five years of the STIP
are not considered committed and are subject to reprioritization.
Although the NCDOT has approved the State TIP, CRTPO
must also approve the
local TIP
for the CRTPO region, which should be identical to the STIP by
the time of CRTPO's expected approval in August. An official federal approval of the program is
anticipated to occur prior to October 1, 2015.
Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) from S Tryon Street
to the South Carolina State Line
This 2.2 mile widening project extends along Steele
Creek Rd from South Tryon Street (NC Highway 49) to the South Carolina state
line. Improvements include widening the existing roadway from
two (2) lanes to four (4) lanes and installing bike lanes and
sidewalks.
This project was included in the CRTPO
Metropolitan Transportation Plan for completion by Horizon Year
2025, but it did not score well enough in the
Prioritization 3.0
process to be included in the latest STIP. NCDOT staff separately evaluated
the Hamilton Road intersection, which did score well enough for improvements to that intersection
to qualify for inclusion in the STIP.
Projects that were not included in the first five years of the
STIP and thus are not considered committed, must be identified for
inclusion in the next round of prioritization (Prioritization 4.0)
and then score well enough for inclusion in the next STIP update,
which will be released in two years.
NC DOT is trying to limit the number of projects evaluated for
Prioritization 4.0 and has imposed strict restrictions on which
projects to include. This segment qualifies for reprioritization because it is considered
a sibling project to the other two committed Highway 160 projects.
South Carolina is planning to widen SC Highway 160 from Gold
Hill Road near Tega Cay to the North Carolina state line. According lists
available on the Rick Hill
- Fort Mill Area Transportation Study web
site, they should be acquiring right-of-way now and begin
construction in 2015 or 2016. These plans cannot be factored into
North Carolina's Prioritization 4.0 until the construction is
actually complete and traffic is flowing on four lanes in South
Carolina.
Public Comment Period
CRTPO announced today
in the press release below that it will be accepting comments to the
Draft TIP, amendments to the
2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and the Air Quality
Conformity Determination Report until July 31. Interested persons
may also give comments in person at the CRTPO meeting on Wednesday,
July 15 as described in the press release.
Although the announcement specifies that people may submit input
on certain topics related to the TIP, CRTPO is hoping to
receive any and all types of comments on the projects in the TIP and
projects that residents may like to see in future rounds of
Prioritization (P4.0 starting this summer).
Residents may consider submitting comments 1) in support of
continued inclusion of the two Highway 160 projects that are in the
first five years (committed section) of the TIP, and 2) in
support of the third Highway 160 project for inclusion and favorable
ranking in Prioritization 4.0.
Public comment period opens for 2016-2025 draft
Transportation Improvement Program, amendments to the 2040
Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and the Air Quality
Conformity Determination Report
Who: Residents and other interested parties within
the Charlotte Urbanized Area, which includes Iredell,
Mecklenburg and portions of Union County.
What: The Charlotte Regional Transportation
Planning Organization (CRTPO) has opened a 30 day public
comment period to obtain public input on its 2016-2025 DRAFT
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), amendments to the
2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), and the air
quality conformity Determination report for the MTP
& TIP.
When: The 30-day public comment period begins
Wednesday, July 1, and concludes Friday, July 31. The public
can also submit comments in person on the draft TIP and
associated documents at the CRTPO meeting on Wednesday July
15, at 6:00 p.m., in Room 267 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street.
Final
action to approve the DRAFT TIP and associated documents is
scheduled for Wednesday, August 19.
How to submit comments: The draft project lists and
maps are posted on the CRTPO website:
www.crtpo.org. Comments should be directed to Neil Burke
using the following methods:
E-Mail:
info@crtpo.org
Regular
Mail:
CRTPO
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government
Center
600 E. Fourth St., 8th floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
FAX: 704-336-5123
Why:
During the 30-day public comment period, residents and other
interested parties can submit comments to be considered by
the CRTPO in conjunction with the adoption of this program.
CRTPO’s TIP is a subset of NCDOT’s State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP), and public involvement efforts
should be similar in scope. The Strategic Transportation
Investments legislation has created a quantitative,
data-driven approach to develop the STIP, and NCDOT has
focused the public involvement on the variety and geographic
diversity of the projects and the process to develop the
STIP. The Program of Projects required by 49 USC 5307 is a
subset of the Transportation Improvement Program and the
public review and comment solicited for this Transportation
Improvement Program is intended to include and satisfy the
public review and comment required under 49 USC 5307(c)(1)
through (7) for the Urbanized Area Program.
CRTPO is the federally-designated
metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Charlotte
urbanized area. More information is available on the CRTPO
website at www.crtpo.org. |
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