Toll Road to No Where Redesigned as Back Country Road

In February 2010, turnpike officials announced substantial changes to the toll road construction plans at an invitation only presentation that did not include the general public. Officials did not permit any questions from the few members of the public that did manage to slip in. Worse, Turnpike Authority officials, including executive director David Joyner, said afterwards there are no plans to present the revised plans to the public to explain what was going to be different and how the changes would affect the people in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. According to the Authority, it is up to the media to distribute these important changes to the public. At our urging, the Authority at least posted its PowerPoint presentation, but it is buried on the website so you should click here to go right to it.

Between I-485 and US 321, the new plan reduces the toll road down to 4 lanes from six. Past US 321 to I-85, the Turnpike Authority says it will charge tolls to ride on what will amount to a two lane country road. The median width is reduced and the road would follow the contours of the land. The goal, according to the Turnpike Authority, is to reduce the footprint for less expensive building costs and make what they say will be a less disruptive road to look at and live next to.

The Authority has not said whether downgrading from an interstate caliber highway to a country lane means design speeds will be reduced from the proposed 70mph.

Many of the interchanges would have smaller footprints by changing from cloverleaf to compressed diamond. An interchange at Bud Wilson Road also would be dropped.

Only the Gazette got the story right (mostly). Click to read the article in the Gaston Gazette, here to read the Charlotte Observer article, over here for the Lake Wylie Pilot, and there for the WSOC story. News 14 and WBT-3 (video and written) also carried stories the next day. Most stories miss the point that although the new plans are better than we have seen in the past, the newly proposed back country toll road still won’t relieve congestion or improve travel times across the county.

The Turnpike Authority says their newest plan involves a “Practical Design” approach to build only what is “cost effectively needed.” These major changes are basically the Authority’s admission that the previous plan was just too expensive and poorly thought out.