I-485 Express Lanes

Growing Charlotte’s (The Queen City) infrastructure

Charlotte, North Carolina is known as the Queen City, given that name during the City’s founding in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of British King George III. Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina and one of the top 20 largest cities in the United States. For the past few decades, Charlotte’s population has doubled, and the transportation infrastructure needs are rapidly changing with the influx in population and traffic volume.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the City of Charlotte and other regional transportation agencies and municipalities began studying alternatives to help roads perform better without adding more general purpose lanes. The recommendation of the region-wide study was for a network of express lanes on several of Charlotte’s busiest arteries – I-77, I-485 and U.S. Highway 74 (Independence Boulevard).

Designing a new concept for Charlotte

I-485 Express Lanes was one of the first express lanes projects for the Charlotte metro area. The corridor project between I-77 and US 74 adds an express lane in each direction and serves as part of a larger network of express lanes in the Charlotte region. Additionally, a general-purpose lane is added in each direction between Rea Road and Providence Road near the Ballantyne neighborhood.

RS&H provided design concepts, performed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, and prepared the 17-mile project for a design-build letting. RS&H also provided toll operations analysis, public involvement efforts, traffic forecasting, and traffic analysis.

The I-485 corridor, a major access freeway for several large communities, passes through major employment centers and several major commercial centers. The primary objective of adding express lanes is to provide commuters with a reliable and consistent travel option throughout the day, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours. The express lanes will implement congestion pricing, while providing a free option for local transit riders.

This project presented several challenges, including the need for additional construction along one of the busiest freeways in the state only a few years after a major construction is complete. The addition of the express lanes was designed in a way that will not hinder future implementation of other direct connectors and integration of the future regional express lanes network.

Extensive public involvement and political support

RS&H worked to build public and political support for toll lanes and ingress/egress access points, especially since this is the first toll project in this part of Mecklenburg County. Various informational materials were prepared for use in large format public meeting forums, as well as strategically targeted small groups and elected officials’ meetings within the project corridor. Materials prepared by RS&H were used to educate and inform citizens and included a visualization video that utilizes 3D graphics (I-485 Express Lanes video), poster boards that visually depict level of service, and corridor maps that display numerous project elements in a clear, comprehensible manner.

Expansive coordination with multiple public and private entities was critical in order to develop a consistent message and approach, and to reach the appropriate audiences. RS&H contacted every municipality and several neighborhoods along the corridor, extending invitations to HOAs and regularly sending out newsletters and project updates. We met with dozens of different community and business groups. RS&H assisted NCDOT with facilitation of four large public meetings and 20 small meetings with constituents and various stakeholders. In addition, RS&H worked with the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) to promote project updates through social media, resulting in 350,000+ views and 1,300+ total comments. RS&H’s extensive experience with project-specific issues and engaging the public through a variety of outreach methods allowed us to assist NCDOT with the delivery of a successful project.

Expect an exceptional journey from start to future

After the design-build team was selected, RS&H continued to stay involved with the project, reviewing design and construction plans for NCDOT and NCTA. The firm has also continued its public outreach efforts during construction and chronicled the project’s progress with quarterly drone flights to capture photos and video.