An article from Charlotte.com about the I-485 exits in South Charlotte and some of their plans…
The evolution, exit-by-exit
From Steele Creek to Ballantyne to Mint Hill, I-485 is redefining southern
Mecklenburg, converting former farmlands into major business hubs and mega housing communities. Here’s a rundown of the changing landscape at every interchange in our region.
EXIT 4: STEELE CREEK ROAD/N.C. 160
Entryway for Berewick, which has the potential for 2,700 homes and apartments on 1,070 acres when it’s completed in about 2010. The busy Shopton Road West-Steele Creek Road intersection now has a traffic light. But plans to widen N.C. 160 to four lanes from I-485 to the S.C. line could take longer. Regional road planners have set a deadline for 2030.
EXIT 3: ARROWOOD ROAD
Office buildings keep rising on turf that was once part of a horse farm. Construction is under way on the fourth building in theWhitehall Corporate Center, which will ultimately have 2 million square feet of office space.
EXIT 1: SOUTH TRYON STREET
Research from Cambridge Partners, developer of the Ayrsley work/play/shop center here, calls this area Charlotte’s second-largest job center, behind uptown Charlotte. More than 108,000 work within five miles of the area.
EXIT 67: THE LINK TO I-77
Drivers keep asking: When will widening start on I-485 eastbound from I-77? Answer: not for a while; the state won’t finish or widen this part of I-485 before 2013. Estimated cost: $45 million.
EXIT 65: SOUTH BOULEVARD
First stop along the 9.6-mile south light-rail line heading into uptown, expected to launch in November.
EXIT 64: N.C. 51
About 100,000 cars pass Carolina Place Mall every day — and plenty of those vehicles use this exit to get there. State officials are reviewing a proposal to build a flyover ramp from I-485 eastbound directly to the mall. Estimated cost: $5 million-$7 million.
EXIT 61: JOHNSTON ROAD
Ballantyne Corporate Park converted open fields into 2.4 million square feet of office space. A second phase could add about 2.5 million more.
EXIT 59:REA ROAD
The one-mile radius around the I-485-Rea Road interchange had 625 households in 1990. By 2010, the count could hit 4,000.
EXIT 57: PROVIDENCE ROAD
The state plans to widen a 3.5-mile stretch from I-485 to near the Rea Road extension in Weddington within about four years. About 33,000 cars travel the stretch every day — which could jump to 43,000 by 2030. THE FUTURE EXIT 54: WEDDINGTON ROAD
Work on this interchange won’t start before 2010. But development is well ahead of it: A shopping center is under way adjacent to the Siskey YMCA.
EXIT 52: JOHN STREET
A state transportation official says town leaders in Matthews, Stallings and Indian Trail all support a future project to widen this bustling two-lane road that stays busy well after rush hour.
EXIT 51: INDEPENDENCE BOULEVARD
Mega-project: Hendrick Automotive Group plans to develop up to 15 car dealerships, offices, shops and townhomes on 200 acres just south of the CPCC Levine campus in Matthews.
EXIT 49: IDLEWILD ROAD
The town of Stallings wants a regional mall at this exit. But developers behind a mega shopping center proposed for Exit 47 may beat them to the punch.
EXIT 47: LAWYERS ROAD
The Bridges at Mint Hill, a proposal competing with the Exit 49 project, is controversial: The site is near Goose Creek, home to the endangered Carolina heelsplitter mussel. “The developer has told me that groundbreaking is imminent,” Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers said last week.
EXIT 44: N.C. 218
The $400,000-plus homes rising at the new Stonebridge community off this Mint Hill exit typifies the type of major growth coming to this town of about 20,000 residents.
EXIT 43: N.C. 51
Residents pushed to get this exit open in 2004, years earlier than planned. Drivers say the ramp takes traffic pressure off Mint Hill’s four other interchanges; CMS is eyeing land near here for a new high school.
EXIT 41: ALBEMARLE ROAD
The suburban hospital boom may come to Mint Hill in 2009, whenPresbyterian
Hospital expects to open a 50-bed facility at this exit.
