Interstate 485
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available. |
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| Interstate 485 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: | 46 mi (65 km) |
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| Formed: | (2001) |
| West end: |  I-85 in Charlotte, NC |
| Major junctions: |
 I-77 in Charlotte, NC
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| East end: | I-85 in Charlotte, NC |
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- For two unbuilt highways, see Interstate 485 (Georgia).
Interstate 485 (abbreviated I-485) is an Interstate highway and a partially-completed beltway around Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of the newest members of the Interstate 85 family.
The western, southern and eastern segments of the beltway are complete and open to traffic. This leg runs from I-85 near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to I-85 near Concord and UNC Charlotte, crossing I-77 south of Uptown Charlotte. During rush hour, this newly-opened roadway is an easy, but long, way around the I-77/I-85 interchange in north Charlotte.
Construction has begun on the northwest segment and should be finished by 2007 from I-85 near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to I-77 near Harris Boulevard. The last segment from I-77 east to I-85 near UNCC is now scheduled for construction around 2012 by the NCDOT.
Although I-485 is officially called the Charlotte Beltway, and unofficially the "Outerbelt", it also goes by two other names. One half is the Governor James G. Martin Freeway and the other half is the Rusty Goode Freeway, in honor of the men who helped make I-485 a reality. Seddon "Rusty" Goode served on the transportation board in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Although part of the Southern Outerbelt runs within 1.5 miles (2.4km) of South Carolina, the entire Outerbelt is located in Mecklenburg County and never crosses into South Carolina or neighboring counties. It should be noted, however that I-485 does come within just 20 feet of the Cabarrus County line at the Rocky River Road exit. The Outerbelt traverses the towns of Mint Hill, Matthews and Pineville. This will be the first "true" loop road around Charlotte, as the I-277 freeway is an inner loop around "Uptown" or "Center City."
[edit] Volume, Capacity and Improvements
As of 2005, approximately 24 miles of I-485 between NC51 (Exit 65) and NC24-27 (Exit 41), has four travel lanes. Volume on this section varies widely from a maximum of 124,000 vpd east of NC51 to a 40,000 vpd south of NC24.
Approximately 10 miles of I-485 between NC24 (Exit 41) and I-85 (Exit 31) has between six and eight travel lanes. Volume on this section varies between 42,000 vpd and 49,000 vpd.
Approximately 10 miles of I-485 between I-77 (Exit 67) and I-85 (Exit 10) has between six and eight travel lanes. Volume on this section varies between 40,000 and 70,000 vpd.
Volume on the southern section of I-485 regularly exceeds capacity during peak travel times, particularly between I-77 (Exit 67) and NC16 (Exit 57). Many of the interchanges in this area were designed to accommodate large volumes of traffic, particular the massive interchange with I-77. However, with only two travel lanes in each direction, I-485 does a poor job of handeling through traffic when volume is heavy.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has proposed to build additional travel lanes along a portion of this section of I-485. Construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2011.
[edit] Exit list
Mile numbering on Interstate 485 is awkward, as the numbers are set up for when the freeway is a completed loop. Numbering begins at Interstate 77 south of Charlotte, NC and continues clockwise to Interstate 85 on the west side of Charlotte. The road ends there for now. The interstate begins at Interstate 85 east of Charlotte, and continues as if the road had not ended, at mile 31 (in reality, a 21-mile gap exists between the two exits), and continues to Interstate 77 at mile 67.
All of the currently open highway is in Mecklenburg County.
| # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NC 49 (S.Tryon Street/ York Road) |
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| 3 | Arrowood Road | |
| 4 | Steele Creek Road | |
| 9 |   US 29/US 74 (Wilkinson Blvd.) |
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| 10A-B | Interstate 85 |
Western terminus of current road |
| Current end of roadway | ||
| 12 | Moores Chapel Rd | Under construction; scheduled to open in December 2006[1] |
| 14 |  NC 27 |
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| 18 | Oakdale Rd | Under construction; scheduled for completion in 2007 |
| 21 | Vance Rd | |
| 23A-B | Interstate 77 |
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| 23C |  NC 115 (Old Statesville Rd) |
Scheduled for construction by 2012 |
| Roadway resumes | ||
| 31 | Interstate 85 |
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| 32 | US 29 (N. Tryon Street/Salisbury Road) |
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| 33 | NC 49 (University City Blvd) |
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| 36 | Rocky River Road | |
| 39 | Harrisburg Road | |
| 41 |  NC 24/NC 27 (Albemarle Road) |
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| 43 |  NC 51 (Blair Road) |
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| 44 |  NC 218 (Fairview Road) |
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| 47 | Lawyers Road | |
| 49 | Idlewild Road | |
| 51A-B | US 74 (East Independence Blvd.) |
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| 52 | East John Street | |
| 57 |  NC 16 (Providence Road) |
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| 59 | Rea Road | |
| 61 |    US 521 South (Johnston Road) |
Split into 61A (US 521 South) and 61B westbound (clockwise). After its recent truncation, northern terminus of US 521 |
| 64A-B | NC 51 (Pineville-Matthews Road) |
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| 65 | South Blvd./Pineville Road | Split into 65B and 65A eastbound (counterclockwise) |
| 67 |  Interstate 77/US 21 |
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Auxiliary routes of Interstate 85 |
| I-185 | Georgia - South Carolina |
| I-285 | Georgia |
| I-385 | South Carolina |
| I-485 | North Carolina |
| I-585 | South Carolina |
| I-985 | Georgia |
| Business | I-85: North Carolina |
| Business | I-85: South Carolina |
| past/future | I-285: North Carolina |
| past/future | I-485: Georgia |
| past/future | I-785: North Carolina-Virginia |
