Plans to relieve congestion on Independence Boulevard include optional toll lanes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tens of thousands of drivers use Independence Boulevard each day to get to and from work or school, and the state is now planning to devote some of its resources to a stretch of the road that could use some relief.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation will lay out its plans Tuesday to revamp the area, holding the first of two informational meetings where people can learn more and ask questions.

Channel 9 looked through the plans, which include optional toll lanes aimed at relieving congestion in a city where the population has doubled in the last 25 years.

The area being focused on is the section of Independence Boulevard between Idlewild Road and Interstate 485.

The plan would be to add general purpose and auxiliary lanes on one of the busiest stretches of Independence. The bus lanes would be transformed into an express lane, but those are optional, just like on Interstate 77.

Busy intersections would also be replaced with interchanges and overpass bridges.

The NCDOT will host the first of two public meetings Tuesday at 4 p.m. at CPCC's Levine campus in Matthews.

If all goes well, construction would begin in 2024.

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