Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction

[Third Strike]

I think the reason for the congestion is because of the drop of one lane. Widening I-85 to a consistent four lanes through the Charlotte area will help relieve some of the bottlenecks. Also, a fifth partial lane connecting exit 26 and exit 27 would also help a ton.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

That's actually a pretty cool map, although the STI points are not final though, so itis subject to change. It's also worth mentioning that the intersection projects don't show up very well, and they tend to be at the top of the list. 

 

Thanks. I probably won't spend any more time on it until things are finalized. I'll have to convert the intersection projects to points and symbolize them, but at least they will show up that way.

 

Kind of off topic, but is there anyone who normally drives I-85 south into Gaston county during rush hour each day?  I find it completely insane that practically every day over the past two weeks that there has been some sort of accident near the Belmont-Mt. Holly/Belmont Abbey exit.  The overflow has nowhere to go but Wilkinson Blvd., which has made that a parking lot too.  If this keeps happening, I may HAVE to take a side on getting the Garden Parkway built!

Or maybe this is a plot by some to get the widening of 85 in that area to move a little quicker.....just thinking out loud!

 

This section of I-85 is nothing but poor highway design. I hate this section the most through the Charlotte metro (now that the northern end is updated) due to all of the overpasses with limited horizontal clearances, short on and off ramps, sharp curves, and high median barriers all leading to limited sight distances. Plus the left lane hogs seem to get worse through there. I will be more than happy to see this project get underway, although I can't imagine how bad it's going to be during construction. ALL of those overpasses will have to be replaced to accommodate the additional lane, and I guarantee you travel lanes will be down to two each direction for the duration of of the project. Good luck bypassing construction on 74. It ain't gonna be fun.

 

I think the reason for the congestion is because of the drop of one lane. Widening I-85 to a consistent four lanes through the Charlotte area will help relieve some of the bottlenecks. Also, a fifth partial lane connecting exit 26 and exit 27 would also help a ton.

 

I was glad to see with the I-85 widening north of Bruton Smith that NCDOT opted to have the right #4 lane exit to NC 73, and then have an additional RIGHT lane drop of lane #3 after the exit to bring traffic down from four to two lanes instead of the idiotic LEFT lane drop they seem to love. I don't know what sane human being (much less a professional engineer) thinks that ending a lane between two exits is going to do anything but cause traffic issues.

[grodney]

New flyover at 485/Johnston to open tomorrow.  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/23/5061853/new-johnston-road-bridge-at-i.html#.U9AL1DRdXvd

 

I'd like to think that story is a result of my tweeting this morning about the road lines being painted on the flyover, ha ha.

 

The merge of the flyover traffic and the old on-ramp traffic looks a little clumsy still.  We'll see how it goes, but I assume that ramp merge won't be complete until the road-widening is complete.

[Nolan]

I thought it was going to be a two lane flyover, but the lane markings is only for one lane, unless it's a just a temporary thing until the regular sections of I-485 finish up. 

[grodney]

I thought it was going to be a two lane flyover, but the lane markings is only for one lane, unless it's a just a temporary thing until the regular sections of I-485 finish up. 

 

I drove it today.  Awesome.  It's wide enough for two lanes, and it is partially striped for two lanes.  I also believe there are two lanes on the plans: http://www.ncdot.gov/download/projects/publichearings/r4902_rdy_phm_sht4.pdf

 

My guess is that they'll just keep it at 1 until the widening is complete, or closer to it.  I believe the plans call for an aux lane from Johnston to 51, which has barely been started yet.

[Nolan]

I drove it today.  Awesome.  It's wide enough for two lanes, and it is partially striped for two lanes.  I also believe there are two lanes on the plans: http://www.ncdot.gov/download/projects/publichearings/r4902_rdy_phm_sht4.pdf

 

My guess is that they'll just keep it at 1 until the widening is complete, or closer to it.  I believe the plans call for an aux lane from Johnston to 51, which has barely been started yet.

There's already lane stripping for what seems to be a temporary lane shift onto the widened parts of inner 485 from Johnston to 77, maybe to allow room for the construction of the auxiliary lane.

[ArtieP]

The new ramp from I-485 to I-85 South has opened in the turbine interchange. One step closer to being complete!

[jednc]

The new ramp from I-485 to I-85 South has opened in the turbine interchange. One step closer to being complete!

The entire I-85/I-485 interchange in North Meck is supposed to open this month according to the original schedule. We'll see if they make it or not.

[15895]

When will 485 be done?

[R.Talbott]

When will 485 be done?

I thought December '14...

[southslider]

^Yes

[jednc]

The only date I have stuck in my calendar for I-485 completion is Dec 2014 (as stated above). I assume since it's the only date I have in there that it is the original date and not one that had already been pushed back. Several years ago I started putting that stuff in my calendar because they would keep pushing the dates and then would talk about "meeting" their deadline when they finally finished...very annoying.

[dubone]

http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/CharlotteOuterLoop/

 

Not that they are always impeccable at updating their website, but it still does list December as the completion.  

[cowboy_wilhelm]

http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/CharlotteOuterLoop/

 

Not that they are always impeccable at updating their website, but it still does list December as the completion.  

 

The NCDOT Construction Progress Report is showing a revised completion date of February 18, 2015 for the interchange and April 21 for the last segment. Projects are running 6.53% and 9.61% over budget, respectively.

[allthingsplanes]

Why in the world are they that far behind?  In looking at each segment it seems like they're so close to being finished.  What do they have left to do that will take that long?

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Why in the world are they that far behind?  In looking at each segment it seems like they're so close to being finished.  What do they have left to do that will take that long?

 

The projects don't have to be 100% percent complete to be open to traffic. Other items such as lighting, static signage, dynamic message signage, landscaping, etc. are all part of the project, but may not be completed until after major construction is complete. For example, the I-85 widening to NC 73 opened all lanes to traffic a few months ago, but the project 100 percent completion date is September 21.

[allthingsplanes]

Okay, that makes more sense.  Thanks for the clarification.

[NLP]

 

I think the reason for the congestion is because of the drop of one lane. Widening I-85 to a consistent four lanes through the Charlotte area will help relieve some of the bottlenecks. Also, a fifth partial lane connecting exit 26 and exit 27 would also help a ton.

 

Oldish quote but relevant to my question. Is the bottleneck in both directions of 85 at the turbine interchange under construction temporary or will it always be 3 lanes in both directions briefly at the interchange? Looks like there's room Southbound to just restripe and pave the shoulder for the fourth lane but the Northbound side looks like it'd need additional cement poured.

[Nolan]

   

Oldish quote but relevant to my question. Is the bottleneck in both directions of 85 at the turbine interchange under construction temporary or will it always be 3 lanes in both directions briefly at the interchange? Looks like there's room Southbound to just restripe and pave the shoulder for the fourth lane but the Northbound side looks like it'd need additional cement poured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8czDkgzpSco

 

It's 3 lanes in each direction according to the visualization from NCDOT and the contractor, which I find it odd too. 

[cowboy_wilhelm]

 

 

It's 3 lanes in each direction according to the visualization from NCDOT and the contractor, which I find it odd too. 

 

I noticed that this weekend and thought SURELY they aren't leaving it at 3 lanes through there when it's 4 on both ends now. Although I suppose the number 4 lane is dropping as an exit to 485 and then added again as the on ramp from 485, so it may not be too painful.

Edited August 26, 2014 by cowboy_wilhelm

[ellifyno]

Oldish quote but relevant to my question. Is the bottleneck in both directions of 85 at the turbine interchange under construction temporary or will it always be 3 lanes in both directions briefly at the interchange? Looks like there's room Southbound to just restripe and pave the shoulder for the fourth lane but the Northbound side looks like it'd need additional cement poured.

 

During the last widening of 85, in which additional lanes were added from exit 42 (29/49 Connector) to exit 49 (Concord Mills/Speedway Boulevard), the interstate around the 485 interchange was laid out exactly as it appears past the construction barriers -- three lanes northbound and four lanes southbound. Going north from exit 42, four lanes were present until the 485 interchange. At that point, the fourth lane became an exit only lane for the inner loop of 485. The third lane then dropped off one mile later at exit 49. North of exit 49, the interstate was left with two lanes in each direction. Going southbound, the loop ramp from Speedway Boulevard to 85 added the third lane and the entrance ramp from Concord Mills Boulevard added a fourth lane.

 

Now, however, it appears that the interstate will be four lanes in each direction on either side of the 485 interchange, but will be only three lanes wide while going under 485. Based on the video linked above, the current merge pattern from 485 on to 85 South, and the overhead sign on 85 South that has the third lane from the left being either a through lane or an exit lane, it seems almost certain that the interstate will narrow for this brief stretch.

 

I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, especially given that 85 South had already been four lanes, but my guess is that the proximity to the Mallard Creek Church interchange (exit 46) made it difficult to drop off or merge the lanes going from 485 to 85 South. They currently have this striped for three lanes merging from 485 -- two from the under-construction inner loop and one from the existing outer loop -- to the existing three lanes on 85. There is no room to widen further, so it seems that when faced with the choice between reducing the number of lanes coming from 485 or the number of through lanes on 85 South, the decision was made to reduce the lanes on 85 South.

[Nolan]

^^^Since you've mentioned the proximity to the Mallard Creek Ch, that would be a tricky merge area. I think the 3 lanes in each direction going through the interchange is a cost-saving measure. Remember, the original interchange, NCDOT had wanted it to be a stack interchange, but the lowest bid contract chose instead the turbine interchange b/c it would have saved about $50 millions. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9bQLGaxq4

Had the interchange been a stack, we probably would have seen a convoluted merging area with collector/distribution lanes like the I-77/I-485 stack in South Charlotte.  

[orulz]

I don't think that will be too bad of a bottleneck because once the interchange opens, a big chunk (probably the majority) of traffic traveling on I-85 and not stopping in Charlotte will probably take I-485 instead, thus reducing traffic on I-85 through town.

[Skyybutter]

Was somewhat surprised at the three lanes myself but just off the top of my head I have noticed this same scenario in DC and Atlanta. Traveling N after you pass the turbine I noticed that for maybe a half mile there are 7 lanes  before one of the 485 lanes merges, then it is 6 lanes until Concord Mills then 5 lanes until Poplar Tent. Pretty impressive. Im glad former Governor Bev Perdue  pushed for the 85 widening and 485 completion. Its the last major construction most of us will see on these Interstates.

[grodney]

Anybody know where to find a construction progress report for the Community House Rd extension and bridge over 485?  I can't find it in the normal NCDOT project listing.