North Carolina Drivers Can Expect A Year Of Detours When The State Revamps This Major Highway
North Carolina drivers can expect a year of detours when the state revamps this major highway. The interchange at highway 85 and and 485 in Charlotte stays notoriously congested. Plans are underway for that to change.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation revealed in an update, the revamping will begin in 2025. According to our source, The Charlotte Observer, the project moved forward back in November. That’s when “North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore revealed he was allocating 45 million dollars to move forward on the redesign”. Moore went on to say the interchange at highway 85 and 485 in Charlotte is one of the most congested in the state.”
How will that effect local drivers when the project begins? It is important to know the state plans to detour traffic. The Sam Wilson bridge at I 85 will be closed for a year according to the Charlotte Observer. Here are the two detours being considered. In a direct quote from the Charlotte Observer, a west detour route called the “Blue Route” and that’s Sam Wilson to Performance Road and beyond. There will also be an east detour option called the “Pink Route”. That’s Sam Wilson to Moores Chapel to I 485.
North Carolina drivers can expect a year of detours when the state revamps this major highway. The North Carolina Department of Transportation will have a public meeting on the changes from 4-7 Thursday February 8. It will be held at Mount Caramel Baptist Church,7237 Tuckaseegee Road. You can review maps and go over other options with representatives at that time.
Construction is slated to being on the project in fall of 2025. And it is expected to be finished in 2028. North Carolina drivers can expect a year of detours when the state revamps this major highway. But hopefully when construction is complete, it will make for smoother, safer, faster, travel. To learn more about this story, get details from our source right here.
3 Of The Nation's Best National Parks Are Within Driving Distance Of North Carolina
I spent a lot of my childhood traveling to different National Parks in both the US and Canada on summer vacations. And for the most part I can honestly say I did not appreciate it at the time. But now my world has started to come full circle and my friends are starting to choose to visit the places I went as a child. But what are the nation’s best National Parks? The travel experts at Conde Nast Traveler ranked the 25 best National Parks and 3 of them are within driving distance of North Carolina.
The Nation’s Top National Parks
And that is saying something considering many of the often thought of a “best” National Parks are out west. You immediately think of places like Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), Yellowstone (Wyoming), Grand Teton (Wyoming), and Yosemite (California). On the east coast the first one that comes to my mind is Acadia National Park in Maine.
Each of those understandably made Conde Nast Traveler’s list. And while all those are fantastic places to visit (many would call them must see parts of America), they are costly if visiting from NC. While I guess theoretically you could drive, it would require a significant time investment, one many of us just don’t have to commit. Which is why it’s great news that 3 of those top 25 National Parks are within driving distance of the great state of North Carolina.
While none of them are in either of the Carolinas all three of these destinations are a reasonable drive. You’ll find each of those three below and learn a little more about them. Interested in reading the top 25? You can find that here via Conde Nast Traveler. Have you been? Perhaps 2024 is the year you’ll check one or more of these off your bucket list!
Catherine Lane is the morning show co-host and midday host on Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been with the station for the past 24 years and is a recipient of the Academy of Country Music Major Market Personality of the Year award. Catherine has been on air in both radio and television in the Queen City for 38 years. As a content creator for Country 1037, Catherine writes blogs on local events and restaurants. She also writes about great travel spots and out of the way places in the Carolinas. Anything outdoors, travel, food, animals or the many country artists from the Carolinas.