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| Interstate 485 65 total miles planned | ||
| Someday, perhaps as early as 2010, I-485 will be a full
beltway around Charlotte.
As of early 2001, two disconnected segments of I-485 are open. One segment
runs from Arrowood Road in southwestern Charlotte counterclockwise to Lawyers
Road. Another segment runs from N.C. 49
northeast of Charlotte to I-85 exit 48.
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| History | ||
| The southern leg. I-485 construction started in
the summer of 1989 near the intersection of N.C.
51 and former U.S. 521 (that's Pineville-Matthews Road and Polk Street/South
Boulevard, respectively) in Pineville. 485 first opened to traffic in late
1990. For several years the road merely cut the corner between 51 and 521
(Image #1), and didn't connect to any other Interstate.
Two stretches of 485 opened in late 1994 -- one from north U.S. 521 north to I-77, and another from N.C. 51 west to Rea Road. In mid-1997, two more stretches of 485 opened: from I-77 west to York Road (N.C. 49), and from Rea Road west to U.S. 74. More info on 485's early years is available at Kurumi.com's I-485 page. West of I-77. On August 26 and 27, 1998, southwestern 485 was extended 1.4 miles west of the N.C. 49 interchange to Brown-Grier Road[1], which was renamed as an extension of Arrowood Road by the end of 1998. The remaining portion of southwestern 485, from Arrowood Road clockwise to I-85, is scheduled to open around early 2004. Stats: project R-2248A and BA; 8.0 miles; $155 million. North of U.S. 74. In late summer 2000, a 2.9-mile portion of 485 opened from U.S. 74 north to Lawyers Road. This stretch of road cost about $32 million to build. It is signed as North and South 485, whereas the freeway on the other side of 74 is signed as East and West 485. By the middle of 2001, 485 should be opened even further to the north
(photo at top; it's project R-2123AB, 2.0 miles, $19 million), all the
way to N.C. 218.
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| 485 in the UNCC area. On May 5, 1999, a new segment
of I-485, disjointed from the existing segment of 485 in southern Charlotte,
opened. This short road is located northeast of downtown Charlotte, and
was once known as the unnumbered "85/29 connector", serving as a mini-freeway
between U.S. 29 and I-85. The road predates I-485 by many years, but for
several years in the mid-1990s, it was closed in preparation for an upgrade
to I-485. Presumably, ramps connecting this road to 29 and 85 needed to
be improved. For some time, completely blank Big Green Signs were installed
on I-85 near its once and future exit 48 in anticipation of 485's completion.
On August 13, 1999, the vestigial northeastern portion of 485 was extended
three miles south from U.S. 29 to N.C. 49 near UNCC. This stretch of road
cost $23 million.[2]
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| Future | ||
| When will it end? The original (pre-1998) target
date for the completion of I-485 was 2008. However, due to late-1998 funding
shortfalls and changes in the budgeting process, most of the project was
forced back, especially those sections which had not started construction
yet[3]. At the time, the state moved the completion date for all of 485
back to 2013.
In early 1999, many Charlotte politicians became willing to convert I-485 into a toll road in order to speed up construction. This idea was quickly dismissed, however, because Federal law prohibits states from tolling roads such as I-485 on which federal funds have already been spent[4]. In January 2001, the state announced some good news for 485: it was
now planning to speed up construction of 485, so that the entire freeway
could be finished by 2010, three years ahead of the 1998 schedule. This
was made possible partly because freeway projects in other parts of the
state were being held up, making more money for available sooner for 485.[5]
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| Comments | ||
| It's the Outerbelt, stupid. Many different words
are employed to refer to belt freeways around the country. Atlanta calls
its belt the Perimeter; Raleigh's is the Beltline; Houston has Loop 610
and Loop 8 and Washington of course has the Beltway. Charlotte's Interstate
485 is the Outerbelt, and has been referred to as such since it was first
planned. Mind you, nothing in Charlotte has ever been called the "Innerbelt",
although I-277 and Charlotte
4 would make good candidates.
The future is now. I-485 west of I-77 has been signed as "Future
I-485" since it has opened. This is done in two ways: blue FUTURE
panels are installed above I-485 route markers (Image #2), and the
word FUTURE is displayed on I-77's Big Green Signs
for 485 west (Image #3, below). This was probably done because this
part of 485 is currently useful only to local residents. Future 485 is
not signed like much of Future I-74 is, with the word FUTURE
where INTERSTATE belongs in signs.
 Exit numbering starts at I-77 near the S.C. line and increases clockwise. That is, as you travel east from I-77, the mile markers go down. |
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| East of I-77, I-485 has been named the James G. Martin
Freeway, after the former North Carolina governor. West of 77, it's the
"Rusty" Goode Freeway, after the N.C. Board of Transportation member and
Charlotte businessman who lobbied for the road's construction. On-ramp
signs for I-485 conspicuously state "Martin Frwy" or "Goode Frwy"; it seems
the state is trying to force the names onto Charlotteans.
485's two directions of travel should be signed as Outer and Inner,
the same way I-440 is signed. In order to
accommodate this practice semantically, and to allow for a possible second
beltway around Charlotte, quit calling 485 the Outerbelt. Instead, use
the Martin/Goode appellations, or just call it 485.
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Some information about project dates, lengths and costs comes from the NCDOT 2002-08 TIP.
Thanks also to Joe Nadler for sending articles along.
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