Friday, May 1, 2009

Northern route chosen for Garden Parkway

The N.C. Turnpike Authority has recommended the "northern route" for the Garden Parkway - toll road linking Charlotte/Douglas International Airport with south Gaston County.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement recommended Alternative 9 as the path for the toll road, which could cost as much as $1.5 billion.

The description of the route, according to the authority's press release: "Alternative 9 begins at I-485 just west of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and moves northwest with an interchange at NC 273 (Southpoint Road), a corridor described locally as the “Northern Route.” From there, the project moves southwest with interchanges at NC 279 (South New Hope Road) and NC 274 (Union Road). It then moves west staying south of Union New Hope Road with interchanges at Bud Wilson Road, Linwood Road, Robinson Road and US 321."

The road is scheduled to open to traffic in 2014.

11 comments:

barkomomma said...

...meanwhile, the I-485 semi-circle will still be a semi-circle?

Anonymous said...

So, is this the route that maximizes the value of "spec" land owned by Senator David Hoyle and former Senator Robert Pittenger?

Anonymous said...

Why is this so-called "Garden Parkway" even needed, other than to line the pockets of certain people?

I mean, you can leave the airport now, take one of several routes, and be in Gaston County in twenty minutes.

This project is a waste of money.

Anonymous said...

HEY THIS IS HOW OLD DAVID HOYLE BECAME A MILLIONAIR.DON'T FORGET HE TRIED TO PASS A BILL TO MAKE OLDER PEOPLE NOT RECEIVE A LICENSE.....ALONG WITH GRAHAM BELL AND MARSHALL RAUCH..THIS IS THRU LAND THAT ALL 3 EITHER OWNS NOW OR THEY RE-DEEDED IT INTO A MEMEBER OF THE FAMILY..RAUCH/BELL RECEIVED THE LAND IN CRAMERTON,N.C. FROM BURLINGTON INDS. TO PASS A FEW BILLS IN THEIR FAVOR..NOW LOOK TO SEE WHERE GRAHAM BELL CONST.IS LOCATING NEW HOMES..UP ON TOP OF THE MTN. AT CRAMERTON..HE ALSO USE TO OWN THE LAND AT 321 AND DALLAS/CHERRYVILLE ROAD WHICH NOW HAS A KFC..A CAR WASH, AND HARDEES..THE BIG IRS NEEDS TO CONDUCT THEIR JOB..

Jon | LEED Certification said...

This is a huge waste of money. For $1.2 Billion we could finish I-485 or jump start two more light rail lines. Do we really need another highway out of Charlotte to encourage sprawl? I don't ever recall sitting in traffic on the current I-85 South of Charlotte at any time of day but I always sit in traffic on I-485S and I-77.
How is this project justified? When did it start? Who proposed it? Shouldn't elected officials with conflicts of interest (ie land along the route) recuse themselves from voting?

e2assist.com said...

This is a total waste of money. Are the idiots who waste money on this reading this blog. I sit in traffic everyday on 73 in Huntersville. Huntersville has the worst roads in the state. I have never been stuck in traffic on 85 South and those people from the airport can easily get to Gastonia.

This is another example of how the states makes stupid decisions with taxpayer dollars. They spend hundreds of millions on projects that benefit few people.

Look here fools (yes, you the decision makers) take a look at the crappy roads in Huntersville! Widen 77 South and build a wider bridge over Lake Norman before costs go higher, finish the 495 loop, widen 85 North into Cabarrus!!!

Stop wasting money on Stupid Projects!

Anonymous said...

I dont think it a waste of money -- BUT IT DOES NOT need to be futher north. It needs to be in the southern part of I-485 around Arrowood Rd. or up closer to West Blvd. The closer it gets to I-85 the less sense it makes.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully people will actually use the highway after it's built so it will pay for itself with the collected toll fees. But, I have my doubts, it being so close to existing freeways. Why pay a toll when you can take I-85 and I-485 and it only take a few minutes longer? I think they're screwing up with this pick for a turnpike.

Still, there needs to be a southern crossing of the Catawba River. I just don't think this is the best way of going about it.

Anonymous said...

I don't get it? Why are you folks all torn up. When they offered to build 485 20 years ago you same people didn't want it to be a toll so here you are still waiting on a piece of the states pie. Don't worry about the road if you don't need it. Those who do will drop their change in it and proceed.

Thank you

Anonymous said...

If you've ever had the misfortune of sitting in traffic on I-85 on the way out of or from Gaston County after an accident, then you'll understand how critical the Garden Parkway is. Right now, the only viable alternate route is US 29/US 74 (Wilkinson Boulevard), which bottlenecks at the South Fork and Catawba Rivers because the bridges across them are only two lanes (as opposed to three lanes for the rest of the highway). The bridge over the Catawba River is dangerously old and even more dangerously narrow, to boot. I wouldn't expect anyone from Atlanta or Richmond to know the myriad backroads and shortcuts that I know to get to where I'm going in Gaston County, and for some vehicles, those shortcuts just don't work.

Although I'd prefer it if the state widened the bridges on Wilkinson, instead of building a whole new road, the general trend in North Carolina will be toward toll roads. The reality is, even if the money were properly managed and doled out on projects with the greatest needs--and really, "greatest needs" is subjective, no matter who you're talking to-- there's just not enough money to take care of all of the state's road needs. People will pay to use a road if it means that they can avoid signals and congestion and get to where they're going faster.

Anonymous said...

IS IT TRUE THAT DAVID HOYLE FATHER-IN-LAW WAS A KLU KLUXER?????