NC 160 improvements make five-year list

Residents wanting to know when N.C. 160 will be widened won’t have to wait much longer. Resident input also is welcome this month.

Two projects on the road could begin by 2020 as part of a draft transportation plan approved for funding in June. The final state decision is expected Aug. 19.

The larger project is a $39 million multi-lane widening of N.C. 160 from N.C. 49 to Shopton Road. The project covers 4.2 miles. Right-of-way and utility costs are planned for 2020, with construction funding coming in 2022-2023.

The smaller project is a $1.6 million intersection improvement at N.C. 160 and Hamilton Road. Right-of-way acquisition there is expected in 2018, followed by construction beginning in 2019. But following a recent meeting between Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization and Charlotte Department of Transportation staff, it could come sooner.

“They’re trying to accelerate that project, but it hasn’t been finalized,” said Candace Leonard, transportation planning engineer for CRTPO, explaining calls from residents about safety concerns at the intersection spurred the discussion.

The timing of both N.C. 160 projects is significant. Both fall in the initial five-year window of a 10-year improvement plan. The first five years receive committed funding, while remaining projects must be re-evaluated and re-scored.

“The entire process is data-driven,” Leonard said. “Every project is evaluated with the same criteria, in the same way.”

The remaining 10-year plan decisions are formal.

“There could be changes, but they should be minor,” Leonard said.

Specifics about the two projects haven’t been determined. CRTPO is holding a public comment period about the transportation improvement program through July 31. In-person comments may be made at 6 p.m. July 15 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Residents can make requests for the projects, including sidewalks and lane numbers.

For Steele Creek residents, N.C. 160 traffic has long been a major concern. In fact, the only formal resolution passed by the Steele Creek Residents Association was to promote the latest improvements in the transportation funding cycle. N.C. 160 is home to manufacturing, commercial and residential base. It also connects Lake Wylie and the RiverGate area of Steele Creek to the new Charlotte Premium Outlets.

Priscilla Goudreau-Santos recently moved to the Greycrest subdivision, near the N.C. 160 intersection with Sledge Road. Goudreau-Santos understands the traffic congestion issue already.

“It is bad,” she said of N.C. 160. “It’s worse if you don’t have a light. It’s worse in the morning and the afternoon when traffic backs up.”

Widening the highway would help during normal traffic or even during rush hour, she said, but would make an even bigger difference in case of a wreck or other emergency.

“With it being two lanes,” Goudreau-Santos said, “if something happens, you’re stuck.”

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "NC 160 improvements make five-year list."