Town Commissioner asks public to voice support for Exit 27
July 23. Town Commissioner Michael Osborne is calling on Cornelius residents to voice their support for the proposed Exit 27 project, a critical infrastructure initiative aimed at reducing traffic congestion on secondary roads.
The Town’s Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) representative said public input is crucial in securing necessary funding for this transformative project.
Osborne
Quotable
“Exit 27 is not just about building a new road; it’s about improving the quality of life for our residents,” said Osborne. “This project will alleviate traffic on our secondary roads, enhance access to essential services, and support our region’s economic growth.”
The CRTPO is a regional transportation planning organization serving communities in Iredell, Mecklenburg, and Union counties.
Key benefits of the Exit 27 project include:
• Reduced congestion on overburdened secondary roads
• Improved access to healthcare facilities and other essential services
• Enhanced regional mobility and support for economic development
The project, which has been in planning stages for several years, is now at a critical juncture, Osborne said. Its inclusion in the CRTPO’s funded project list could determine whether it moves forward in the near future.
How to speak up
Residents are encouraged to submit their comments supporting the Exit 27 project by Aug. 1. Comments can be emailed to Travis Johnson of CRTPO at [email protected], with Cornelius elected officials copied at [email protected].
For more information, please visit CRTPO website 2026-2035 TIP Development.
Exit 27 layout dating back to 2015
Needed Regional Cornelius Road Projects:
Exit 27
Widen NC 115 (Sam Furr to Washam Potts)
NC 115 South (Washam Potts to Potts)
US 21 (Westmoreland to Catawba)
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Do it, QUICKLY!!! Exit 28 would lose 1/2 it’s traffic and we would all be better for it. This plan should be fully promoted and constructed on an expedited timeline.
This “solution” benefits absolutely nobody but land speculators.
I agree! The answer is to stop developers, not add another exit to bring more people to this small area. We are already over developed.
How about creating dedicated toll access at Exit 28 and Exit 25? The same way they exist at the under-trafficked Hambright Rd. and Lakeview Rd. dedicated toll exits. It is ridiculous to have to crawl for half mile or more before the first opportunity to get on an I-77 Express Lane. The I-77 Express lanes is the elephant in the room. Talk about it, resolve it. Open that up and you alleviate congestion. Thanks.
Smartest thing that I’ve heard in a while!
Support exit 27. Anything to help with traffic congestion.
YES!! PLEASE move forward with exit 27! That would be so helpful in reducing commute times. We really need that!
Right you are. The sooner the better.Mark
Let’s dissect this:
• Reduced congestion on overburdened secondary roads: This wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t over build to begin with. Now you will be forcing traffic through neighborhoods to get back up to the area of exit 28.
• Improved access to healthcare facilities and other essential services. This should have never been built. There are hospitals on almost every other exit on 77.
• Enhanced regional mobility and support for economic development. I think you need to stop development because you no longer have the infrastructure to support it. You don’t even have the infrastructure for our current level of development.
Exit 28 is a problem that was created by previous town boards. Even the redesign was a failure but instead of holding off to get the traffic right they built anyway. Now neighborhoods surrounding will be forced to deal with increased traffic, crime and eventually more development. This will solve your problem but creates other problems yet to be realized.
So you are proposing going back in time and undue all the mistakes made? Complaining about the issues doesn’t solve them…bring solutions, not complaints!
I actually did bring a solution. Stop development until you have the infrastructure to support it. Moving traffic to neighborhoods is NOT the answer. So when he asks for support I replied not giving it to him. This is ABSOLUTELY the forum for that. The forum for solutions is at the town board. Don’t be confused.
Totally correct. Every one of these “traffic solution” is a total smokescreen to allow more development. They already approved the new roundabout on Westmoreland under the guise of “better traffic flow” but we all know it’s the new taxpayer paid for entrance to that huge new project. How ’bout you quit pissing on our heads while telling us it’s raining?
It really doesn’t matter what the community says…NCDOT doesn’t care what we think. They’ll do what they want to do anyway !!!
Ditto on all of Steve’s points!
Reduce congestion This will cause more congestion during the building and who knows how long it will take with weather and other determining factors. I do not trust CRPTO – THEY GAVE US SPANISH TOLL ROADS THAT COST AT LEAST 25 cents a mile to use . How about doing it right the first time as not to waste taxpayers money, time and gas.
Sounds like he is kicking off an election campaign! Typical political stunt, especially with Key Benefits all neatly laid out. And about those key benefits, why not share all that research and data that developed/ support this political spiel? You know details! Oops, the devil is in the details and that’s why this is a “Spin Doctor” post and nothing more
No we need to send more money to Ukraine. You all must sacrifice.
How about creating dedicated toll access at Exit 28 and Exit 25? The same way they exist at the under-trafficked Hambright Rd. and Lakeview Rd. dedicated toll exits. It is ridiculous to have to crawl for half mile or more before the first opportunity to get on an I-77 Express Lane. The I-77 Express lanes is the elephant in the room. Talk about it, resolve it. Open that up and you alleviate congestion. Thanks.
I agree with you Steve 1000%. This is all being done because of Atrium Hospital. Put a traffic light on Westmoreland 21. It’s impossible to get out of our Westmoreland community because of the traffic. And I DO NOT SUPPORT AN EXIT 27
Bradford and Tart and McCrory and the rest of the crew are not here to help taxpayers they are here to line and fill their pockets with our money. The people who are running this circus should be fired and charged with corruption. They are always putting band aids on gunshot wounds. I’m completely and utterly sick of these politicians running scams and stealing our money. The solution is stop being corrupt and greedy and allowing the taxpayers to be taken advantage of. No more subdivisions until our roads are paved and kept up. Our bridges have bad rust on them. There’s even a bridge on I-77 that has chunks missing from the supports. (Exit 45) Iredell County. When that bridge gives way then someone is really going to be held responsible.
I’m still waiting for the train we were promised – instead we got an expensive horrible toll lane.
More lanes, more cars….
We won’t become a true metropolitan area until we put money into mass transit. Let’s stop being a backwater.
I know it is Not part of the NCDOT code but shouldn’t Atrium Health be paying for part, if not all, of this exit seeing they are the primary beneficiaries?
What does widen NC115 have to do with Exit 27?
Where is Washam Potts to Potts?
Where did the Westmoreland roundabout go?
If you widen 21 from Westmoreland north doesn’t that just create another bottleneck at Westmoreland?
You should really call this new exit Atrium because they are the only beneficiary.
Where did the north bound left hand turning lane at Westmoreland and 21 go?
Stop blaming the local administrations for their past errors and come up with a regional plan for, at least, North Mecklenburg.
Look up “induced demand”. Michael Osborne apparently has not.
Building more roads does NOT reduce traffic. Saying that it does is an argument like “public money invested in stadiums benefits anyone other than the team owner”…complete garbage disproven by repeated studies.
I am 100% AGAINST the proposed exit 27 off of I-77. Before we build an exit off the interstate we have to have better secondary roads. Currently Sam Furr Road, Catawba Avenue, Westmoreland Road, and Statesville Road are heavy with congestion at all times of the day.
To create another exit off of the interstate to bring the traffic onto Westmoreland Road would just create more congestion there. If Westmoreland Road is widened then that traffic goes onto Catawba Avenue or Statesville Road. I know there are plans to widen some of these secondary roads, but until that work is complete (or near completion), I don’t think we should entertain the idea of an exit 27.
Currently there is a cut through from Catawba Avenue to Sam Furr Road, it goes through the Robbins Park neighborhood and the Birkdale neighborhood, and it has way too many cars speeding through those neighborhoods. People that use this cut through then just end up adding to the traffic on Sam Furr Road and Catawba Avenue. Now, a new cut through from Westmoreland Road to Same Furr Road is under construction. You will be adding cars through the Alexander Chase neighborhood and behind the Stratford Forest neighborhood and once again bringing them onto the heavily congested traffic of Sam Furr Road. Additionally, you are destroying a once beautiful preserve area that used to be flush with beautiful trees and wildlife.
Everywhere I look in both Cornelius and Huntersville there is construction. The once beautiful area I moved into 25 years ago is being destroyed. I believe in growth and development, it is both inevitable and beneficial, however the kind of growth that I am witnessing seems to be poorly thought out and lacking a long term plan.
These are just my thoughts and observations, but I do not like what I am seeing.