About 70 percent of I-485 will be complete after that opening. The outerbelt has been under construction for 15 years. Work starts in a few weeks on the costliest segment yet, a $94 million, six-mile stretch in northwest Mecklenburg that will carry traffic from Brookshire Boulevard to I-77. State projects to complete this year include paving Mint Hill's N.C. 51 interchange on I-485.

Commissioner Austin presented a resolution to the board, October 2003, asking the state to pave and open the exits at N.C. 51 and I-485 ASAP. His motion was defeated 3-2  with Biggers, Horton and  West voting against. In November 2003 West was defeated in the general election and Ross was elected. Ross was sworn in Thursday, Austin presented the resolution again and it passed. What a difference an election makes and the public wins again. Mayor Biggers comment: "I'm not holding any grudges, I'm just ready to move on." Duh! If you want to keep your job you will do as the public asks. It just takes a little more to get through to some of these politicians. Your Webmaster

The quiet countryside of northwest Mecklenburg will soon be transformed by the footprints of giants: Interstate 485 and the region's largest shopping district. Work on the six-mile stretch of I-485 starts next month. And construction has already begun on the Northlake mall. The 1.7 million square feet of shopping, which includes nearby stores, will be bigger than the new expanded SouthPark or Concord Mills. The openings of Northlake in 2005 and the freeway in 2007 are expected to create a massive development boom in the semi-rural area, bringing more houses, stores and traffic. With interchanges at I-85, Brookshire Boulevard and I-77, the outerbelt -- and the mall -- will draw drivers from Gaston, Lincoln and Iredell counties, as well as Lake Norman, University City and uptown. Northlake will have something no other mall in the region has: three freeway exits. Those exits combined with fast-growing communities nearby will make this "a pretty dad-burn unique place," said developer Henry Faison, who started planning the mall about 10 years ago. Charlotte has approved plans for other business around the interchanges -- a Target store west of the mall, and a car dealership at N.C. 115. Other properties are zoned for offices and homes. "We're seeing a lot more people coming in to see what the plan allows," said Joyce Gillon, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg planner. "The mall is a big draw, but not everyone can get zoning for a big box." The lure of future development has land prices soaring. Alton Stewart wants $750,000 for his six acres in Huntersville near the future I-485/N.C. 115 interchange. Once bulldozers start plowing a path for I-485, he'll raise his price. "I figure it will be worth maybe a half-million an acre -- for interchange land," said Stewaart, a Charlotte contractor who's owned the property 22 years. "That mall will just be two minutes away on the outerbelt. This is valuable real estate."

Huntersville's `blank slate' The mall and outerbelt are being built in northwest Charlotte, just south of Huntersville so the city and town will control what develops for miles around. Land in western Huntersville is environmentally sensitive because it drains into Mountain Island Lake, the area's major source of drinking water. Huntersville requires more open space and less dense developments than nearby Charlotte, says town Mayor Kim Phillips. It is concentrating denser developments around N.C. 115 where a commuter rail line will run. On its side of the border, Charlotte has zoned much of the land for hundreds of homes and apartments. Commercial development will be concentrated around major roads and interchanges. The city has planned for a mall here for 20 years, says Debra Campbell, acting planning director. One day, northwest Mecklenburg's commercial area will resemble a cross between Pineville and SouthPark, said county commissioner Jim Puckett. He's concerned about extra traffic and runoff into Mountain Island Lake. But he's optimistic I-485 will bring positive change. "We are starting with a blank slate," he said. "We have the opportunity to do it the right way." Fiona Brown dreads the arrival of I-485, which will chew up the woods where she and her brothers played off Beatties Ford Road in the Long Creek community. "It was the most incredible place to grow up. We lived in the woods and fields," said Brown, whose grandfather built the house in 1937. She spent 16 years in that home as a child and is living there again with her husband Joe and their son Eric, 4. She was forced to sell most of her land to the state. Her house and 1.4 acres will remain, next to the freeway. "The noise will be a nightmare," she said. "We can't imagine what it will be like."

N.C. 51-style traffic? The two-level Northlake mall will open in September 2005 at Vance/Reames roads. Picture the traffic. Vance/Reames is 1.5-miles long and will have an I-77 interchange on one end and a I-485 exit on the other. The mall sits between them. "It is going to be a pretty busy place. It will look a lot like N.C. 51 by Carolina Place in Pineville, although I hope we can do a better job with traffic," said Bill Dillard, Charlotte's traffic engineer. "When you built it that close to freeway ramps, it will back up." Today, the two-lane road carries 12,000 cars a day. By 2025, that will grow to 46,000 cars on six lanes, engineers estimate. By comparison, N.C. 51 carries 51,000 vehicles daily near Carolina Place. Faison, the mall developer, argues that traffic should move smoothly because many drivers will reach the mall by I-77 or I-485 and switch freeways if an exit backs up. Developers are spending about $20 million on road around the mall, from adding lanes to Vance/Reames to building Northlake Centre Parkway.

New I-77, I-85 link If a map of I-485 were stretched over the face of a clock, the 13-mile segment in northwest and north Mecklenburg would cover the numbers from 9 to 1 o'clock -- connecting I-85 near the airport to N.C. 115 east of I-77.That stretch will become a hugely important connector -- a shortcut between I-77 and I-85. Work starts next month on the new stretch near the future mall, from east of Oakdale Road to N.C. 115. That segment will include a massive interchange with I-77, similar to the one now under construction west of the airport. The state will spend $94 million, plus $11 million more to buy land -- the costliest contract yet in the 67-mile loop freeway. The project will claim 18 homes, two businesses and a golf course. And it will change the lives of hundreds of property owners. Charlie Kiper has lived in Wedgewood II neighborhood off Vance Road since 1994 when the closest gas station was five miles away. The mall will make shopping easier, the freeway will improve travel, and Kiper expects his neighborhood to become part of a robust and prosperous community. "Everyone is excited about it all," he said. "We expect our property values to go up." Ruth Paule and her basset hounds moved to Forest Drive six years ago so they could hunt rabbits in the woods, near Vance Road. Forest Drive is so quiet she drives an electric golf cart on it to exercise her dogs. Not for long. I-485 will slice through the road. She will wait a while to see if she can bear the dust and din from construction, and then the roar of traffic. "I'm not complaining," Paule said. "We'd be sad to move, but it may come to that." Then she jiggled the leashes of Thistle and Jane, and the trio started down the dirt road toward the woods that I-485 will soon erase.

Numbers Behind the Next Piece of I-485

6 = The miles of new road the state starts building in January, from east of Oakdale Road to east of N.C. 115.

21 = The number of bridges.

63,000 = Average daily traffic volume.

$94 MILLION = Construction cost plus $11 million for land.

2007 = Completion date

2004 = 7.5 miles open in spring, from Arrowood Road to I-85

2005 = Seven miles open in December, from north of I-85 to east of Oakdale Road.

Test run result: New leg of I-485 is super

COMMUTER UPDATE | JAIME LEVY Charlotte Observer Posted on Sun, Dec. 07, 2003

An early warning to motorists about traffic conditions. Commuter Update got a haircut in Pineville this week, taking the opportunity to visit the Charlotte area's foremost curly-hair experts, but more importantly to do a test run of Interstate 485. My assessment? I-485 is awesome. But let's keep that a secret, OK? Let Commuter start by describing her trip back from Pineville -- a total of 20 miles up I-77 and I-85, to get to my University-area apartment. It was by then about 8 p.m., well past rush hour.

MINT HILL - It's only five miles on the map, but the segment of Interstate 485 that opened here Wednesday is the most important piece yet of the Charlotte outerbelt. The four-lane piece creates a continuous 39-mile stretch of freeway that bypasses the congested core of Charlotte and connects I-85 and I-77. I-485 in Mint Hill, for instance, carries 14,000 vehicles a day compared to 164,000 on I-77 south of uptown.

Charlotte’s outerbelt, I-485, will be three-quarters complete in spring 2004 when a new stretch opens near the airport in west Mecklenburg. Here’s the construction schedule:

1 Arrowood Road to Wilkinson Boulevard, opens in December

2 North of Wilkinson to I-85, opens spring 2004

3 North of I-85 to N.C. 27, opens late 2005

4 North of N.C. 27 to Oakdale Road, opens spring 2006

5 East of Oakdale to N.C. 115, opens spring 2007

6 East of N.C. 115 to I-85, opens 2010 or 2011

7 Weddington Road interchange, opens 2007

North Carolina Commuters Map County By County

I-485  North Carolina

16.70 miles , officially, as of October 2002. This new road, nicknamed the Outerbelt, is under construction around Charlotte. It first broke ground in the late 1980s, and some sections open to traffic are already congested. I-485 is planned to be complete around 2008, at a total cost of $1.1 billion and length of and 65 miles.
   Mecklenburg County N.C. Transportation Board representative Seddon "Rusty" Goode Jr. had been advocating an "outerbelt" for Charlotte since 1978. In 1988, after part of its route was selected, Goode lobbied for interstate status, either I-477 or I-485.  On July 8, 1988, Gov. Jim Martin turned the first spadeful of dirt on the 16.6-mile southern leg and announced that the road would be I-485. "I bet you thought this day would never come," he said, "but good things come to those who wait."

Work begins
In late 1989, work on the 4-level "Spaghetti" interchange at I-77 south of town started. The 1.3 mile section between US 521 and NC 51 opened on November 1, 1990.  In January 1993, a 35-mile section (unconstructed) of I-485 was named the James G. Martin Expressway, after the governor who broke ground in 1988. This created a bit of a flap, but not enough for Martin to decline the honor (Tobacco lobbyist and Larouchite foreign policist Jesse Helms did request that a new section of interstate near Winston-Salem not be named after himself).
   In 1993, proposals surfaced to make I-485 a toll road, to speed construction of the rest of it by about 10 years; however, it lost steam later that year. On October 24, 1994, a two-mile stretch connecting the 100-foot-high I-77 interchange and South Blvd. opened, connecting the existing 1.3-mile section to I-77. Meanwhile, plans to build a $2 billion outer-outer belt, which would go through 13 counties, were quashed by Gov. Jim Hunt, who called the idea "farfetched" and cut off funding for further study.
   In early 2000, it was expected that funding would be delayed; John Lansford noted in January 2000 that the EPA cited Charlotte in violation of clean air regulations. Federal funding for highway projects in the area would be withheld until a plan is developed to improve air conditions.
   If construction is not delayed, Charlotte expects to have I-485 complete between I-85 to the north and I-85 to the south by July 2003.
   In mid-2001, the Outerbelt schedule benefited from $76 million in funding lost by two other road projects that had been delayed. If construction goes as planned, the date for completion of the entire freeway will be moved two years earlier, from 2010 to 2008.

Ribbon Cuttings

• US 521 to NC 51, 1.3 miles, Nov. 1, 1990.
• I-77 to US 521, 2 miles, Oct. 24, 1994.
• to NC 16, 2.3 miles, Aug. 15, 1997.
• NC 49 to I-77, 1.5 miles, early 1998.
• Arrowwood Road to NC 49, 2 miles, Aug. 26 and 27, 1998. 
• US 74 to Idlewild Road, 2.3 miles, Dec. 21, 1999. (6 months early)
• I-85 to NC 49, northeast Charlotte, 2.5 miles, July 2000. 8 lanes wide.
• Idlewild Road to Lawyers Road, 2 miles, June 2001. 
• Lawyers Road to NC 49, 12 miles, should open July 2003. This will complete the eastern loop (I-77 to I-85).
• Arrowood Road to Wilkinson Boulevard, 6.4 miles, opens Dec. 2003.
• North of Wilkinson to I-85, opens spring 2004.
• North of I-85 to N.C. 27, opens late 2005.
• North of N.C. 27 to Oakdale Road, opens late 2005.
• East of Oakdale to N.C. 115, opens spring 2007.
• East of N.C. 115 to I-85, opens mid-2010.
• Lawyers Road to N.C. 49, 13.2 miles, opens July 2003. 
• Weddington Road interchange opens 2007.

We built it, and they came
Already, I-485 traffic is overwhelming the 4-lane road. Drivers are screaming for 6 or 8 lanes, and planners will build most remaining sections with 6 lanes. The diamond interchange at NC 16 (Providence Rd) has already been revised, with loop ramps added.

See also:

• Outerbelt.com (Project map and future opening dates; Charlotte Observer)
• ncroads.com: I-485 (Matt Steffora)
• "Commuters Maneuver I-77 Work: 4 Levels Of Traffic Will Crisscross When Intersection Is Complete In `92", December 14, 1990.
• "Outerbelt Now Links U.S. 74, I-77, Uptown" September 15, 1997.
• "Filling in the belt's gaps: 2.3-Mile stretch of I-485 set to open next week." Dec. 15, 1999.

Sources

1. Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highways, FHWA, Oct. 31, 2002.

2. Hebert, Richard. Highways to Nowhere. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Inc., 1972.

3. King, Michael. "Atlanta Interstate Development." Post to misc.transport.road, Feb. 7, 1996.

4. Curley, Chris. "New Section of I-485 Opens." Post to misc.transport.road, Dec. 21, 1999.

5. Lansford, John. "485 Funding Delayed." Post to misc.transport.road, Jan, 28, 2000.

6. "N.C. to hasten work on 3 big road projects: Delays in Asheville, Winston-Salem free up money for loop road." Charlotte Observer, June 9, 2001 (thanks to Brad Johnson for the fwd)

8. "Will Outerbelt Be An Interstate?" Charlotte Observer, March 17, 1988.

9. "Outerbelt Dubbed I-485: Construction On Road Project Officially Under Way." Charlotte Observer, July 9, 1988.

10. "He Paved Way For Area's Growth: Retiring Roads Czar Wrestled Process Into Doing His Bidding." Charlotte Observer, September 9, 1990.

11. "Opening Day: Traffic Will Flow On First Section Of I-485 Outerbelt", Charlotte Observer, November 1, 1990.

13. "Hunt Wants No Money Spent On Roadway: Governor Calls $2 Billion Proposal Farfetched.", Charlotte Observer, January 16, 1993.

14. "Stretch Of I-485 Outerbelt Opens Today, Linking I-77, South Blvd.", Charlotte Observer, October 24, 1994.

15. "Future I-485 Sections May Be 6-Laned: Traffic Already Triples 2000 Projection." Charlotte Observer, October 3, 1997.

16. "A Welcome Link: New Section Of Outerbelt A Big Deal For Union County.", Charlotte Observer, August 15, 1997.

20. Tanner, Richard. "Interstate 485 Information." Personal email, July 17, 2002.

21. Steffora, Matt. "NCRoads.com: I-485." NCRoads.com: North Carolina Highways... http://www.ncroads.com/interst/ih485.htm (21 Aug. 2002)

22. "Outerbelt Construction Map." Charlotte Observer, Oct. 31, 2002.

23. "Year of road upgrades features I-485 openings." Charlotte Observer, Dec. 26, 2002.

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