Consultants and other visitors at Wednesday's drop-in workshop at Cornelius Town Hall looked at maps of the proposed I-77 widening project. (David Boraks/CorneliusNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

CORNELIUS – Residents, businesspeople and local officials this week got a closeup look at several versions of a proposal to build high-occupancy toll lanes on I-77 to help relieve rush-hour congestion north of Charlotte.

At workshops in Cornelius Wednesday and Charlotte Thursday, NC Department of Transportation officials and consultants showed maps of the planned route and drawings of what toll lanes might look like. Read the full story

State Department of Transportation officials and regional planners will hold public information workshops in Cornelius Wednesday and in Charlotte Thursday on a proposal to convert High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-77 north of Charlotte into High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes. The workshop will look at four scenarios for the change, which would raise money to help pay for widening of the heavily congested stretch of interstate.

The first workshop runs Wednesday, May 9, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Cornelius Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave., Cornelius. The second will be Thursday, May 10, 4-7 p.m., at the N.C. DOT’s Traffic Management Center, 2327 Tipton Drive, off Statesville Avenue, Charlotte. Read the full story

The Red Line Task Force of the Metropolitan Transit Commission holds its monthly meeting Wednesday, April 25, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., at Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. 4th St., Room 266, Charlotte.

Wednesday’s agenda includes a wrap-up of the business plan review, an update on proposed new station criteria, and information about an upcoming meeting with Norfolk Southern Corp. Read the full story

A public hearing April 18 will seek comments on four scenarios being considered for toll lanes that would help pay for widening I-77 north of Charlotte.

The Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold the hearing Wednesday, April 18, from 5-8 p.m., at Huntersville Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road, Huntersville. Read the full story

A Norfolk Southern train on the tracks near Zion Street in Cornelius. (Chip Dawson photo)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

CHARLOTTE – A formal review period for the Red Line Regional Rail Project business and finance plan is coming to a close, but the next phase – asking local governments to adopt the plan – is delayed indefinitely, project officials said at a Red Line Task Force meeting Wednesday. Instead, project leaders will be meeting with Norfolk Southern Railroad Corp. in hopes of ironing out the track owner’s concerns about the plan.

Under the project’s original schedule, a 90-day formal review period was to be followed by revision and then adoption of the plan. Instead, project officials are putting the adoption phase on hold, amid Norfolk Southern’s concerns about combining commuter and freight service on the 25-mile line from Mooresville to Charlotte. Read the full story

To the Editor:

I’ve been pretty outspoken about pedestrian safety in Davidson over the past few months. (See Dec. 26, 2011, “Pedestrian safety, through the eyes of an obssessive walker”) But I want to report that I’m finding pedestrian safety along Griffith St., between Watson St. and the new convenience store/gas station, is surprisingly safe. I have been walking from Armour St. (along Watson) and crossing Griffith, heading toward Snap Fitness, for three months now and have never had a close call. Read the full story

The Lake Norman Transportation Commission, which includes representatives from area towns, will hold its monthly meeting Wednesday, 6 :30 p.m., at Huntersville Town Hall.

The agenda includes discussion of the organization’s name, a presentation by Huntersville transportation planner Bill Coxe on “Comprehensive Transportation Planning,” committee updates, and updates from the director on Red Line and I-77 widening. Read the full story

Starting March 7, you'll have to use Holly Point Drive to make a left turn off NC 73/Sam Furr Road onto U.S. 21. Click to watch a video.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

HUNTERSVILLE – The $17 million road widening project on Sam Furr Road (N.C. 73) east of I-77 in Huntersville is nearing completion, and it’s bringing a major change in the traffic pattern at Sam Furr and Statesville Road/U.S. 21. Beginning Wednesday, March 7, cars heading east or west on Sam Furr Road will no longer be allowed to make left turns onto U.S. 21. Read the full story