CHARLOTTE, N.C. --

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“I'm glad I am not older; This would give me a heart attack!” -Business Owner Talking About DOT Plan For Independence Boulevard

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The state is planning to start buying the land it needs to widen Independence Boulevard by the end of the year. The massive project will have a dramatic impact on Charlotte’s bustling southeast corridor.

One-point-six miles doesn’t seem like that long a distance. To give you a frame of reference, it’s only slightly more than one lap around Lowe’s Motor Speedway. One-point-six miles of Independence Boulevard is at the heart of a state DOT project that while small in distance is huge in impact.

On the surface, the benefits of the project planned between Albemarle Road and Wallace Lane are impressive:

8 lanes of expressway with no stop lights

Medians flanked with concrete barriers wide enough for an immediate bus lane and future light rail line

2 massive park and ride stations for commuters

Widened, 6-foot sidewalks for pedestrians

Built-in bike lanes on feeder roads

If you’ve ever sat in traffic on Indy before, reading bullet points like that probably brings a smile to your face. Unfortunately, with progress comes a whole new set of problems.

To build this stretch of road the way it wants, including re-doing the intersections of Sharon Amity, Idlewild, Conference and adding park and ride locations, the state says about 70 homes and business will sacrificed.

In addition, the state plans to start buying up all of this property in December, but construction won’t begin on the project until 2011. This means all of these buildings will be abandoned and sitting empty for up to two years before any visible progress is made.

A drive down Indy between Interstate 277 and Cricket Arena shows the impact this kind of road project is already having on the corridor. It is blight, plain and simple, full of empty buildings, failing businesses and declining neighborhoods.

The new project will continue this same type of road plan another 1.6 miles, presumably with the same effect on businesses. No left turns onto or off of Independence Boulevard will be possible from I-277 to nearly Sardis road north, making it difficult for customers to get easily in and out of hundreds of establishments there.

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One of the features the project also calls for is an extension of Conference Drive up and over Independence and onward eventually connecting with Idewild. This eliminates a traffic light there and cleans up the traffic flow on the north side of the intersection. It also provides yet another twist in this winding road saga. The city encourages developers and businessmen to buy up old, empty big box stores and remake them into something thriving and useful.

These monoliths dot the city and soon become overgrown with weeds, dilapidated and ugly with time, and can become hangouts for unsavory characters. For someone to come in and remake one of these so called big boxes into something good is a big deal.

There was one of these big boxes at the corner of Independence and Conference. Businessman Nick Stephanov and his family bought it and have spent in excess of $10 million renovating it and turning it into a high-class dealership for pre-owned luxury cars.

What was a shabby, empty eye-sore is now a glass and mahogany luxury building surrounded by sleek, imported cars bustling with activity and commerce.

The states plan would put the conference drive extension right through the middle of his building and turn the rest of his brand new business into part of a park & ride lot. Stephanov just had his grand opening in November.

“I'm glad I am not older; This would give me a heart attack,” said Stephanov.

You can hear our interview with Stephanov and see a slideshow of DOT plans for Independence Boulevard. Check the sidebar of this article.