NCRoads.com: I-277

Interstate 277 < I-77 \| On-Ramp \| Home \| I-85 > Photo: I-277 has two different names.

Interstate 277 5 miles

The Road:

Starts at I-77 exit 9.
Ends at I-77 exit 11. Loops around downtown Charlotte, Mecklenburg County.

Intersections:

Heading southbound on the Brookshire, the interchange for the Independence Freeway (U.S. 74) is a left exit.

Multilane Segments:

The Brookshire portion is six lanes (three each way) from Independence Boulvard north to I-77 exit 11.

History:

I-277 wasn't all built in one piece. Oh, no, not at all. Here's the story of all the building and numbering:

In 1970 or 1971, the northern leg of what would become I-277 was completely opened as the Northwest Expressway. This road ran from Independence Boulevard north to Belhaven Boulevard near I-85, and part of it was originally signed only as N.C. 16. The Northwest was renamed the Brookshire Freeway on September 8, 1975 in honor of Charlotte mayor Stan Brookshire[1].

The southern leg of 277, between I-77 exit 9 and Independence Boulevard (U.S. 74), has always been called the John Belk Freeway and was opened in two sections. In 1981 a short stretch of 277 opened between Independence and a traffic light a Kenilworth Avenue. In 1987, the stretch between Kenilworth and I-77 exit 9 was opened. The Belk has always been called I-277[2], even though for several years in the early 1980s it didn't connect to any other Interstate.

1986 AAA map

When the Belk was completed, U.S. 74 between Independence and Wilkinsinon Boulevard was routed over it as well; 74 had previously been routed over surface streets. To this day 277 and 74 are still multiplexed over the entire Belk.
For several years after both the Brookshire and Belk were open, only the Belk was signed as I-277. The Brookshire (north of Independence) was known only as N.C. 16. This changed around in the mid-1980s (see map above); nowadays the entire half-loop east of I-77 is signed as 277. The segment of the Brookshire northwest of I-77 is still only signed as N.C. 16.

In practice, Charlotteans who haven't lived there for that long (which is most of them) tend to refer to the "Belk" and the "Brookshire" interchangeably, and sometimes refer to the portion of N.C. 16 north of 277 as 277. Both these practices are erroneous.

Comments:

It wasn't built for this purpose, and nobody considers it as such, but I-277 could be considered Charlotte's downtown beltway. It travels a legitimate 270 degrees around downtown, and if you throw in the two miles of I-77 it's a full 360.

Ideas:

Extend the 277 designation further north, all the way to the N.C. 16's junction with I-85. Decide on one name or the other (Belk or Brookshire) for the entire road.

Interstate 677? hypothetical

The Plan:

In the 1980s and early 1990s, when plans for Charlotte's outerbelt were under discussion, some civic leaders tossed around the idea of a second outerbelt. This road, the Carolinas Parkway, would have gone through at least 10 counties in two states. Mind you, this was before construction had even started on Charlotte's first beltway (now I-485). While the idea received a great deal of attention in the Charlotte Observer, it was killed soon thereafter, with the rationale that the road would promote sprawl and would siphon money away from improving existing roads.

By 1997, however, talk of an "outer-outerbelt" has resurfaced, now that a good chunk of 485 is open. Such a road would encircle Charlotte at a 20-mile radius and connect towns such as (going clockwise) Monroe, N.C.; Waxhaw, N.C.; Rock Hill, S.C.; Lancaster, S.C. and Gastonia, N.C. This road is at least 10 years away from construction. [3]

No number has ever been assigned to either of these roads, and in fact nobody's ever said they'd be freeways. The 677 I use here is arbitrary, but would make sense given that there's already an x85 beltway in Charlotte.

Sources:
[1] Charlotte News, 9 September 1975
[2] J.N.B. Jr.
[3] Rebecca Cook, "Outer-outerbelt will be the brass ring", Charlotte Observer, 20 July 1997

Last Update: 27 August 2000

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