CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rising costs of materials and workers are to blame for the $1.7 million price tag to reopen the existing bus lanes on Independence Boulevard in east Charlotte, according to the city of Charlotte.
The lanes were closed in 2017 when work began to replace the Hawthorne Street overpass to accommodate the expansion of the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar. The original plan called for reopening the Independence Boulevard lanes as toll lanes, similar to those on Interstate 77 and the ones being constructed on Interstate 485.
The lanes sat dormant as the Hawthorne Street bridge project faced extensive delays, including the use of the wrong girders and the wrong concrete. The bridge would finally open in 2020.
Proposals to convert the bus lanes over to toll lanes have been delayed due to North Carolina Department of Transportation "funding shortfalls," according to the city of Charlotte. The delay has left "the busway needing interim work to restore busway operation."
At Monday night's city council meeting, council members voted to approve sending the NCDOT $950,000 to restore the lands to operation.
This is not the first time the city has voted to send funds to NCDOT. In 2022, the council approved $750,000 for the project.
The total cost to reopen the lanes to buses and emergency vehicles now totals $1.7 million.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to the NCDOT to ask where's the money and to understand how the taxpayer dollars would be used.
A spokesperson for the NCDOT told WCNC Charlotte:
- The opening of the bus lanes for outbound vehicles needs to be relocated about 330 feet. Crews will remove a barrier wall to make this happen. A pillar for the Hawthorne Street bridge currently obstructs part of the existing entrance.
- Approximately 650 feet of surface will be repaved.
- Work also includes storm drainage accommodations
After the initial round of funding in 2022, the lanes were expected to reopen by the end of that year. The reopening date has now been pushed into the first half of 2024, according to the NCDOT.
"So, we're hoping this project is going to help until the Express Lanes project comes along in a few years," NCDOT Spokesperson Jen Goodwin said. "Anything that that can be done to help folks have a more reliable travel time and have a safer drive, of course, is our first priority.”
In July, the NCDOT asked for contractor bids on the project, according to the city of Charlotte. When no bids were received, the NCDOT readvertised the bid in October. At that time, two bids were received. It was after those bids were received, that the city of Charlotte will again be considering releasing additional funds. Those funds will come from the CATS Revenue Reserve Fund.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
If those lanes were ever to be converted into toll lanes, the latest cost estimate puts that project around $105 million. Another nearly-billion dollars would be needed to expand those lanes all the way down to I-485 in Matthews. Currently, the existing bus lanes end two miles south of the interchange with Albemarle Road.
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