20020672 Ver 3_Attachment 32 - 11-17-14 New lanes on I-485 set to open by end of year_20141124

Traffic grinds to a halt near 5:30 p.m. on I-485 at the Pineville-
Matthews Road exchange. Ryan Pitkin/SCW photo
New lanes on I-485 set to open by end of year
Posted by Ryan Pitkin on November 17, 2014 in News
The current road-widening project on Interstate 485
between Interstate 77 and Rea Road is on pace to
be nearly complete by its projected finish date of
December 2014, the North Carolina Department of
Transportation (NCDOT) says.
Contractors with Lane Construction have told
NCDOT they hope to get the new lanes, one on
each side of the loop between I-77 and Rea Road,
opened by mid-December, although some paving
work will need to be held off until spring 2015.
“Seasonal limitations” prohibit construction crews
from doing any resurfacing or putting new surfaces
down on roads between November and March.
Temperatures below 50 degrees can negatively
affect a surface’s ability to properly set and cure,
said Jen Thompson, spokesperson for NCDOT.
“We want to at least get the traffic in its final pattern. We will have the new lanes but not the final riding surface,”
Thompson said. “It might be a little uncomfortable for now, but we’ll get that fixed up in the spring.”
Thompson said between an inch and an inch and a half of pavement will be put on the 9.2-mile stretch of
interstate where the lanes have been added as soon as the weather permits.
Planners hope the widening will put a dent in the heavy congestion experienced by commuters on I-485 during
peak hours on a daily basis. Most parts of the interstate within the current project area run at an “F level” of
service during peak hours and other parts of the day, meaning the road runs at a forced or breakdown flow – a
constant traffic jam – according to the NCDOT grading system.
Part of the current project included constructing a flyover ramp leading from northbound Johnston Road to the
I-485 inner loop. The flyover, which opened in July, has cleared much of the congestion for the estimated 17,500
drivers who would wait in a left turn lane on Johnston Road to enter I-485 heading west each day.
Brady McKenzie, an NCDOT engineer in charge of the road-widening project, said he hopes the lanes will open
in December and have the same effect on all 485 traffic.
“I don’t think people have seen much benefit or detriment from the project to this point,” McKenzie said. “But
once it opens it will be a lot better than it was.”
The contractor has told McKenzie the lanes can open by December, barring any unforeseen delays. Inclement
weather would be the main reason the project could still hit a delay, he said.
Neither weather nor other circumstances that have delayed other I-485 projects have been a hindrance on this
widening project, McKenzie said.
The biggest challenge for construction crews has been working in the midst of heavy traffic, he said. No workers
have been hit, but crews have witnessed many accidents due to construction-related traffic stoppage as well as
the normal congestion the project is aiming to relieve, McKenzie said.
The speed limit has been lowered to 55 miles per hour from 65 for the duration of the project.
According to a study carried out leading up to the project, 864 crashes occurred in the project area between
Sept. 1, 2005 and Aug. 31, 2008. That put it near the critical rate, at which it can be estimated statistically that
something other than chance is to blame for the accidents. The number of nighttime crashes that occurred during
the study, 233, exceeded the critical rate.
As construction crews wrap up that project on the southwestern corner of Interstate 485, the NCDOT will soon
find out whether the widening will continue to Independence Boulevard and Matthews.
The proposed project, which would widen an eight-mile stretch of I-485 from Rea Road to Matthews, has not yet
been approved for funding by the state and would likely not begin construction until 2017, if approved.
Officials are waiting to find out how the new project will rank in the State Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP), a prioritization process adopted in 2013 that must be adhered to for any project that will begin
construction after June 2015.
The data-driven STIP process ranks proposed projects based on how they meet the NCDOT’s goals and that list
serves as a recommendation for the North Carolina Board of Transportation to vote and approve which projects
can be funded. The NCDOT is expecting to learn where the new I-485 widening project was placed on the list by
early December.
New lanes on I-485 set to open by end of year | South Charlotte Weekly
11/25/2014
Attachment 32