STEELE CREEK NEWS
New Alternatives
Presented for Dixie River Road Intersection Realignment
(November 20, 2005)
The intersection of Shopton Road West with Steele Creek Road is very
dangerous and needs improvement as soon as possible. This point
has been well understood for some time, but citizens attending a public
meeting on November 17 made sure to emphasize it and urge quick
action.
Steele Creek Road (or
North Carolina Highway 160) is a major thoroughfare through the
western side of the Steele Creek Community. Traffic volumes continue
to increase as new residential, commercial, and industrial
development occurs in the area, but Steele Creek Road has only two
lanes and experiences major backups during morning and evening rush
hours.
About a half mile
south of the I-485 interchange near the Steele Creek Masonic Temple,
Steele Creek Road has a sharp curve that is difficult to negotiate
without slowing. To complicate the issue, Shopton Road West
intersects right at the curve. Motorists attempting to enter Steele
Creek Road from Shopton Road West have an awkward view of oncoming
traffic. All this results in a dangerous intersection that generates
accidents with frightful regularity.
Developers of the new
Berewick community planned to realign Dixie River Road through their
future town center in a manner that would allow connection to the Steele Creek Road/Shopton
Road West intersection, creating a new four-leg, 90°
intersection. This general alignment was approved by the
Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) in 2004.
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However, studies
have shown that approximately 41%
of the traffic passing through the intersection would
follow the two legs of Steele Creek Road. Traffic from the south
would make a simple right turn at the intersection, but traffic
from the north would have to make a left turn to continue south
on Steele Creek Road. To accommodate expected traffic volumes,
there would need to be at least two and more likely three left
turn lanes. High projected traffic volumes basically make this alternative
(Option 1) unworkable. |
Planners
have prepared three new alternatives. All of these separate
Shopton Road West from Dixie River Road to create two new
intersections. Each intersection would have a traffic light, and
these would be timed to move traffic through as efficiently as
possible.
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Option 2A would move Shopton Road West about
1/4 mile to the
south. |
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Option 2B would move
Dixie River Road about 1/4 mile to the north and also reduce the angle of the
Shopton Road West intersection. |
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Option 2C is a
combination of Options 2A and 2B, and moves both
intersections. This moves the two intersections further apart
and avoids having an intersection at the curve. |
At the public meeting,
Charlotte city staff and consultants working on the project
requested input from the public on the three options. The decision
will be made by the City of Charlotte, the North Carolina Department
of Transportation, and MUMPO, but public comments will be
considered.
Several meeting attendees requested installation of a traffic signal
at the intersection now rather than waiting for the new roads to be
built. Staff did not have access to signal feasibility studies but
promised to report back on the request at the next public meeting.
The
project will be funded by the City of Charlotte Transportation Bonds
approved in 2004 and the North Carolina Department of
Transportation. Planning and design will continue through mid to
late-2006, and land acquisition and construction will occur during
2006 and 2007. The project includes construction of the new Dixie
River Road westward up to the Berewick Property line. The Berewick
Developers will construct the new Dixie River Road from that point
west into their town center.
To comment on the three
new options or for more information, please contact Project
Manager Derrel Poole
of the Charlotte Engineering and Property Management Department:
Mr. Derrel Poole
Engineering and Property Management
600 East Fourth Street
Charlotte, NC 28202-2844
(704) 353-1794
(704) 336-4554 - FAX
dpoole@ci.charlotte.nc.us
See previous articles on the
Dixie River Road Project and the Dixie-Berryhill Thoroughfare Plan:
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