Some cities have built so-called HOT lanes, which allow drivers to pay a toll and be guaranteed a certain speed. Some HOT lanes – high-occupancy toll lanes – are free to people carpooling.
The Monroe Connector/Bypass would be a toll lane for everyone, and it’s unclear if the state is proposing to build a HOT lane or regular toll lane for Independence.
Also this summer, the DOT will begin converting a small section of Independence from Sharon Amity Road to Conference Drive into an expressway. That would leave six miles of Independence that would still be a regular highway with traffic lights before reaching the outerbelt.
Barry Moose, a division engineer with the DOT, said those six miles are more than a decade away from being converted to an expressway. But he said he believes the opening of the Monroe toll road would create a “perfect storm” of interest, increasing support for the project.
The state has recently ranked those six miles of Independence as the second-most important highway project in the state, after replacing the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River.
The council’s talk about extending a toll lane into Mecklenburg County was part of an overall discussion about the Independence corridor.
The Urban Land Institute has recommended that instead of building light-rail in the median of Independence, the state and the Charlotte Area Transit System build a busway. The busway lanes would also be used for high-occupancy toll lanes.
Before the council meeting, Moose also said he has recently begun thinking about how to reconfigure the busiest stretch of road in the state: Interstate 77 from uptown Charlotte south to I-485.
That section – which carries more than 160,000 cars daily – has only three lanes in each direction, and little room to expand. Moose said the state has recently hired a consultant to brainstorm the best way to expand the highway.
Moose said it’s unlikely the DOT could afford to expand the highway in a traditional way, by expanding the footprint of the highway and adding a general-purpose lane in each direction.
“I don’t think that’s feasible,” Moose said. “The cost of land is too high.”
Moose said the state would likely build HOT lanes to help pay for construction. One possibility: Building two lanes above the current highway and the existing east-west overpass bridges. Whatever option the state chooses will likely cost at least $1 billion, Moose said.
By Steve Harrison
sharrison@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 08, 2011
The N.C. Department of Transportation said Monday it wants to allow drivers from the Monroe Connector/Bypass to continue paying a toll all the way to uptown Charlotte – via a new toll lane on Independence Boulevard.
This summer, the state is planning to start building the 21-mile Monroe toll road, which will connect east Union County to the Interstate 485 outerbelt, where the toll road will end.But Transportation Secretary Gene Conti told the Charlotte City Council Monday that it makes sense to add one new lane to Independence Boulevard, which could be used as a toll lane.