Groundbreaking was scheduled Friday for Carolinas HealthCare System’s $36 million behavioral health “campus” off N.C. 73 in east Davidson. If all goes as planned, the hospital and out-patient mental health clinic will open in 2014. Officials say the hospital fills a critical need in the region. We have more about the hospital plans and a Q&A with CHS executive Dr. Roger Ray, in HEALTH & FITNESS

By CHUCK McSHANE
DavidsonNews.net

HUNTERSVILLE – Two meetings here Wednesday took on the topic of I-77 and the future of transportation in the Lake Norman area.

The Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) held a public workshop on the proposed I-77 High-Occupancy Toll lane project, which would add privately-managed high occupancy toll lanes on either side of the interstate from Brookshire Freeway in Charlotte to Exit 36 in Mooresville.

About 20 people showed up at Central Piedmont Community College’s Merancas Campus to get a look at aerial maps of the proposed project and ask questions about how they might be affected.

MUMPO is seeking to add the planned public-private partnership to drafts two key documents – its 2012-2018 Transportation Improvement Plan and its 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan. Wednesday’s meeting is part of a public hearing process on this step, which MUMPO representatives will vote on at their May 22 meeting.

Bill Coxe, a transportation planner in Huntersville, presented some details about the project. He noted that average travel times at peak hours tend to be below the speed limit. With increased growth, those times would only get worse in the coming years, Coxe said.

“We’ve reached the end of (I-77′s) useful life as a four-lane highway,” Coxe said.

While MUMPO had originally called for a widening project using general purpose and non-toll high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, Coxe said that traditional state funding was not as readily available. That’s when MUMPO proposed the HOT lanes idea.

He said that of the 306 transportation projects on MUMPO’s agenda, only 30 of them could be completed using traditional state funding. This project is likely to cost more than $500 million, Coxe said. The state will contribute no more than $170 million.

Adding the project to the Transportation Improvement Program and Long-Range Transportation Plan is important, Coxe said, because contractors are unlikely to agree to take on the project without its inclusion in those plans.

If MUMPO approves the project, North Carolina Department of Transportation staff will select a bidder for the project in October. Construction is planned to begin in January 2015, and the lanes are scheduled to be open in 2017.

Some members of the public were concerned about design specifics and financing of the project, particularly on how cars would enter and exit the lanes.

The winning bidder will be responsible for such design details, but will be required to have at least four entry and exit points along the route. Coxe said the winning company will likely include more than that.

The company will be responsible for design, construction and maintenance on the HOT lanes. The company will also conduct minor maintenance and upkeep on the general purpose lanes. The state will provide a stiped for upkeep on the general purpose lanes.

MUMPO is seeking public comments now through April 22. To submit yours, visit the MUMPO survey website at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z2WRVLM

TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION LOOKS AT NEEDS

Meanwhile, at Huntersville Town Hall, the Lake Norman Transportation Commission held its monthly meeting. High on the agenda was a recent survey on Lake Norman-area priorities. The survey of 39 people who had attend a recent transportation summit found that most people prioritized adding a north-south route from I-485 north. Second on the priority list was an east-west connection from I-77 to I-485.

Commission members agreed to revisit the corridor plan for N.C. 73.

Chairman Bill Thunberg updated the group on the long-stalled Red Line commuter rail project. He said the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s Red Line Task Force is continuing talks with Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks the proposed project would use.

Mr. Thunberg said the best case scenario is that the commission can convince Norfolk Southern to consider forming a public-private partnership for the proposed project.

RELATED LINKS

See more about the I-77 project on MUMPO.org

Lake Norman Transportation Commission, www.lakenormantrans.org

See previous stories about I-77 on DavidsonNews.net.

Previous articles about the Red Line project

Have you explored the Lake Davidson Nature Preserve on the shores of Lake Davidson? This little known corner of town is emerging as one of the area’s newest recreation sites. On Saturday, April 13, the Davidson Lands Conservancy and other groups are organizing PaddleFest – a day of activities to celebrate Lake Davidson and its possibilities.

Meanwhile, the lands conservancy and its partners also have organized a stargazing party on Friday night at Fisher Farm Park, in northeast Davidson. Read the full story

Carolinas HealthCare System will formally break ground Friday for its planned $36 million behavioral health hospital off N.C. 73 in east Davidson. Site work began in February on hospital, which is expected to create 155 jobs, including physicians and other staff.

Friday’s ceremony is scheduled at 12:30pm at the site, 16740 Davidson-Concord Road (N.C. 73).

Speakers will include: CHS chief executive Michael C. Tarwater, Medical director Dr. Roger Ray, newly hired chief clinical officer Dr. John Santopietro, and Dr. James H. Scully Jr., medical director and CEO of the American Psychiatric Association. Town officials also will attend.

Parking will be provided in Bradford Park, across NC 73, with shuttle buses bringing guests to the site.

Carolinas HealthCare has said it wants to speed construction on the hospital. Officials said this week they hope to complete the project in 2014.

See previous coverage of the hospital and Carolinas HealthCare on DavidsonNews.net.

And check back Friday for an interview with Dr. Roger Ray about the hospital project.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson Commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday to allow construction of an auto repair shop off Griffith Street near the Harris Teeter, even though the design does not technically meet the area’s zoning, which requires commercial buildings to have two functioning stories.

The board granted the exception to Charlotte-based Woodie’s Auto Service, which plans a 12,000-square foot, 14-bay garage and office building at Davidson Gateway and Peninsula Drives, near the Community School of Davidson.

Woodie’s Auto is a family-owned group of repair shops in the Charlotte area, founded in 1962 by Ernest Woodie. Under his sons Brad and Mike Woodie, the company has grown to a network of shops around Charlotte. Read the full story

A formal public comment period is open through April 22 on the N.C. Department of Transportation’s plan to widen I-77 north of Charlotte by adding high-occupancy toll lanes, or HOT lanes. The Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) plans public meetings Wednesday in Huntersville and Thursday in Charlotte as part of its effort to gather input on the plan. Read the full story

Widen I-77, a citizens group opposed to the NC DOT’s plan to widen the interstate north of Charlotte by installing high-occupancy toll lanes, attracted a crowd of 60 to 70 people for a meeting at Cornelius Town Hall Wednesday night. Read the full story

The Davidson Pedestrian Master Plan Steering Committee and consultants from Alta Planning + Design will host a series of meetings next week seeking public input on a proposed master plan for pedestrian and bicycle transportation in town. The meetings begin Monday, April 8, with a drop-in public workshop, and continue Thursday and Friday, April 11-12, with an “open studio” where the committee and consultants will work on the plan.

The town also is conducting an online survey to gather input. See below. Read the full story