When will West Catawba Avenue actually be widened?
TRAFFIC | By Dave Vieser
Sept. 29. As a reporter for Cornelius Today, I’m often asked that question. The goalposts have already been moved several times on this NC Dept. of Transportation project, which will eventually widen what is often a congested two lane road into a four-lane divided thoroughfare from Jetton Road to Sam Furr.
Interestingly enough, we reported (“West Catawba Phase Two widening will eliminate most left turns”) in November of 2014 that construction on Phase 2 widening would begin in late 2018. Five years later, it hasn’t happened.
Here’s the latest on the widening of West Catawba Avenue with input from Deputy Town Manager Wayne Herron.
What is the current projected start date for construction?
Answer: March 2026.
Why the delay?
Answer: It’s a combination of factors, including funding issues at the DOT, as well as delays in surveying and acquiring property.
How long will the construction take once it begins?
Answer: Approximately three years if all goes as planned, meaning final completion will be in 2029 under the current schedule.
Has the DOT at least completed property acquisition?
Answer: No. NCDOT is currently working to acquire the properties along the right of way that will be needed to widen the road. It is now estimated it will take through 2024 to negotiate and acquire all of the properties needed.
What is the current project cost, including a breakdown of the town portion?
Answer: NCDOT is still working to value-engineer the project to reduce costs. It is estimated that it may now be in the $29 million range, rather than the $53 million range once quoted by DOT. No matter the costs to NCDOT, the Town’s costs will remain at $3.7 million.
What will happen to the West Catawba/Westmoreland Road intersection?
Answer: It will remain a signalized intersection, but the Alexander Farm developer will be required to build additional turning lanes.
Will utility lines be buried as they were when Catawba east of Jetton was widened?
Answer: No, while this was a desired feature when the project was first being planned, it became very clear early on that the cost would be prohibitive.
How will traffic be managed during construction?
Answer: Suffice to say it will be a difficult three years in Cornelius and motorists will need to consider taking alternate routes when they can.
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Thanks. You answered several of my questions. Mainly, HOW will it be widened?
Wider roads CREATE congestion, they don’t solve it.
Google “induced demand”. It’s well understood by transportation engineers everywhere else in the world. Here in North America, we seem to think that if we keep just adding one more lane, it’ll finally fix traffic. It didn’t work last time, so clearly we need another. And another. And another.
The solution to traffic is alternative connections, both for cars, and for travel that doesn’t need a car. Not more room for more traffic.
Hey Jeff,
I do agree with you as this is well studied however this specific road does need widening no mater and it’s a pretty good design. There are plans to connect north cross Dr with to Westmoreland Rd which is definitely what we need more connectivity via more smaller roads. Speeking of alternative travel maybe one day we will get the mythical red line!
Where is this proposed connection? I know there are plans to connect Northcross just north of Sam Furr in Huntersville, including a protected bike lane, which is huge.
Yes, bicycle lanes can help. Build them, and the bikers will come and use them.
The trick with bike lanes is that you actually have to build a complete network, and build it in a safe and appealing way. If there’s the slightest barrier, people are less likely to ride.
The way we build lanes here, though, is like 40 ft at a time. It’ll be great when all the old timers sell all their properties to developers who legally have to build their portion of the bike lanes… but that’s an effective completion date of the 12th of Never.
Even the bits of lanes we have are too narrow, and unprotected. As a cyclist, I think the superior options are the greenway systems, and bike boulevards on quiet streets. Emphasis on “quiet”. Cornelius’s bike routes are decent, and I routinely use #1 and #5. I’m working on getting some established in Huntersville. Davidson doesn’t need them, because they’re fairly bike friendly overall.
We’re already here getting slurs and objects hurled at us actually.
Agreed. Does anyone actually believe more lanes will actually “fix” traffic? $29M (likely more) is a waste. Far cheaper could build more greenways.
Apartments and high density projects create congestion, widening roads alleviate that congestion. We need to stop rezoning to allow for high density projects.
“Will utility lines be buried as they were when Catawba east of Jetton was widened?”
Nope, just more unsightly overhead cables that make this area look like a 3rd world country.
I live near the intersection of West Catawba and Sam Furr. Traffic is obviously a mess, specifically weekday afternoons. Here’s the thing…the traffic “jam” actually begins each day farther south on 73 in the Denver area.
The Cornelius area can be widened but the question remains– where are they going? This new widened road will still feed into a one lane road. Unless this is a combined effort to widen the entire area then this is a solution to nothing.
The issue, I think, is that 73 from Denver is a major choke point. The next river crossing is 5 miles south, and works out to a 20+ mile detour. North is even further.
I don’t know that there’s an easy answer to that, as alternatives would go through the nature preserves. I heard there was a historic bridge that connected Jetton and Unity Church, but is under Lake Norman now. Maybe rebuilding that could help.
We just got back from Iceland where nearly every intersection had a roundabout. It was brilliant..it kept traffic flowing even on the busiest streets and highways. We rarely had to stop until we reached our destination. Why can’t we do that here?
Apartments and high density projects create congestion, widening roads alleviate that congestion. We need to stop rezoning to allow for high density projects.
We need to first of all change the speed limit to 35. 35 is residential speed limit and West Catawba is definitely residential. With the widening we will have cars, trucks within 10 feet of homes. We would love a street light at Vineyard Point Lane and Catawba. We have 278 condos off Vineyard Point plus townhouses and 72 homes that exit on Catawba. That is as much as 600 people they are making turn right to go over a quarter of a mile to make a uturn to get back in the traffic going the opposite direction. They also need to add a lighted pedestrian crosswalk across Catawba to keep Robbins Park and greenway accessible to the Cornelius residents. Many residents from Robbins Park like to come to Lake Norman and wont be able to get across the street. The closest crosswalk is at Westmoreland which is .6 from Vineyards Way. That would mean to use any of the facilities, attend park events or use the greenway and get back would be a minimum of 2 miles.
Much of the traffic on Catawba is going to Denver and are not even Cornelius residents but we are facilitating them at the expense of the residents.
I am looking for advice on how to get the Master board of Vineyards Point represented at meetings.