Roundabouts on Hwy. 21 will be completed in Winter 2027
Roundabouts on Hwy. 21
Dec. 1. By Dave Vieser. Work will finally begin inMarch on two new roundabouts at the Catawba Avenue/Hwy. 21 intersection just east of I-77. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has awarded a $14.6 million contract to the Caton Construction Group of Charlottesville, Va. to perform the work.
When the traffic circles are completed, left turns from Catawba onto Hwy. 21/Statesville Road will be eliminated, said DOT Spokeswoman Jen Goodwin.
The area is highly congested because of its proximity to I-77.
Plans currently call for two roundabouts to be built on 21: One just north of the Catawba Avenue intersection, near the QT convenience store and the second traffic circle south of the intersection just beyond the Mecklenburg ABC Store.
Under the current construction timetable, work on the project will begin in March 2024 and be completed by the winter of 2027.
How will motorists make left turns
Per NCDOT, once the traffic circles are in service, a driver who wants to turn left from Catawba Avenue to U21 would make a right turn and then a U-turn in one of the roundabouts to head straight through Catawba Avenue to 21.
Were different improvements considered?
Very much so, as the debate continued for years regarding what would be the best means to permit traffic to flow more smoothly through the area. One possibility was a “jug handle” type of intersection somewhat similar to the intersection off highways 73 and 21 in Huntersville. However, none of these were greeted favorably by local residents nor would they have achieved the improved traffic flow envisioned with the dual traffic circles/roundabouts.
No Comments
Leave A Comment
Our Partners
This has to be a typo right? It’s going to take FOUR YEARS to build out 2 roundabouts? That’s a joke
Don’t worry, by the time they’re done we’ll need even more.
Even just one more lane over 77, like they’re doing at exit 23, would go a long way. Now the circles will be a standstill, because we all know the traffic lights on the bridge have never worked correctly. Bravo on an absolute waste of spending for the wrong solution. Sometimes doing nothing is a better solution.
about 5 mil a year, par for govt run items
Hi. Would it be too much to ask for you to show the pictures with North to the TOP?
Having looked at a lot of plans, this is a pretty common frustration. It’s especially common on DOT plans that involve N/S roads, so they can show them horizontally.
We’ll refer your question to the NCDOT.
“a driver who wants to turn left from Catawba Avenue to U21 would make a right turn and then a U-turn in one of the roundabouts to head straight through Catawba Avenue to 21”
Left turns are dangerous, yes, but you know this INCREASES traffic in the intersection, right? Now you have to drive through it twice to make a left.
21 isn’t congested because of its proximity to 77, per se. It’s congested because it’s one of only three roads you can get any distance on going N/S. Nothing else connects. In fact, I even have to take a stretch of 21 down in Huntersville on my bike, because there’s no reasonable alternative close by.
This plan is DUMB! it forces cars to cross over Catawba twice
if they would put a clover leaf system and make the traffic normal on the bridge rather then cris cross it would eliminate 2 traffic lights and left turns from 77.
Or another solution would be large traffic circles at Catawba and 21 and another one at Catawba and torrence chapel road. they won’t look at that because the fuel stations would fight it. Business take precedence over common sense.
The map is 100% inaccurate from the description in the article. The QickTrip and the ABC Store are 0.1 Miles from each other. That map is 100% wrong.
The North Carolina Dot should offer a bonus to finish the job earlier so the contract would take is sweet time tie up traffic