CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — North Carolina Department of Transportation officials will hold an informational meeting Thursday night to discuss a significant improvement project coming to the I-85/I-485 interchange in west Mecklenburg County.
Leaders plan to widen the interchange to alleviate traffic. They also plan to rebuild the bridge over I-85 on Sam Wilson Rd. and relocate the ramp to I-85 South from Sam Wilson.
State House Speaker Tim Moore pushed the funding for this project through in November, allocating $45 million from the state’s discretionary budget. That move made the timeline for the project forward by almost a decade.
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Leaders noted the interchange is one of the most congested in the state. NCDOT reported around 150,000 vehicles travel along that stretch of I-85 daily, and an additional 32,000 use the interchange to get from I-485 onto I-85.
Most of the issues stem from the ramp going from three lanes to one lane, and there is a truck weigh station nearby, meaning large trucks frequently ingress and egress.