I-485 Traffic

Charlotte traffic got this bad because the region added residents, freight, development, and driving demand faster than it built a safe and connected transportation network.

It is not one bad merge, one slow driver, or one construction project. Charlotte has a growth problem, a freight problem, a road-design problem, a distraction problem, and an accountability problem occupying the same limited space.

After calling Charlotte my hometown for more than forty-three years and practicing law in Mecklenburg County for more than thirty-four, I have watched the Queen City grow from a large Southern town into a major American metro. That growth created jobs, wealth, neighborhoods, restaurants, sports, and opportunity. It also put far more cars and trucks onto a network that still funnels much of the region through a handful of roads.

“Camping in the left lane” usually describes a driver who remains in the far-left lane without passing or moving over for faster traffic, sometimes traveling at or below the speed limit while traffic piles up behind them. Charlotte drivers know the species well.

You may encounter one heading north on I-77 toward Huntersville and Lake Norman, moving steadily along at 64 mph beside another vehicle traveling 64 mph in the next lane, apparently unaware that a small civilization has developed behind them.

It is annoying. It can impede traffic. Under some circumstances, it can violate North Carolina law. But here is where the subject becomes more interesting than another complaint about bad driving.

Articles Tagged with I-485 Traffic

Charlotte Traffic Sucks | Here’s Why

Camping in the Left Lane | Legal or Not So Much?