Exit 28
Bumps ahead: Process to use HOV lanes requires planning or transponder
Oct. 15. By Dave Vieser. Even in a pandemic, the toll lanes which continue to haunt Lake Norman area politicians, also haunt local motorists. For example, motorists with three passengers or more traveling from Cornelius to Charlotte and seeking to use the toll lanes for free must navigate a rather difficult process while being clairvoyant. […]
Road work ahead: More than $24 million in construction coming
July 25. By Dave Vieser. While discussions on social media and among residents often focus on I-77, there’s a lot more road work about to begin in and around Cornelius. As the result of a $24 million transportation bond issue approved in 2018, as well as a $20 million transportation/parks/arts bond issue approved in 2013, […]
And they serve coffee too
June 14. It seems like only yesterday that the Pizza Hut on West Catawba Avenue was churning out pies, but first thing Friday morning, a full-service Starbucks complete with casual seating inside and a drive-up window outside will be open for business. The 3,237 square foot Starbucks is one of the largest drive-up Starbucks in […]
Questions around the toll lanes?
What portion of the project will be finished in January? Most of the new lanes in the Cornelius/Huntersville area will be completed and open by January but in areas closer to Charlotte, work remains. Detectors have been installed above the toll lanes to read license information on cars using the toll lanes. This information is […]
Exit 28 aesthetic re-do is going to be a won’t do
July 6. By Dave Vieser. In late 2015, then Mayor Chuck Travis announced that Gov. Pat McCrory would be coming to Cornelius in 2016 to dedicate the new nautically themed Exit 28 bridge. McCrory bailed out as soon as the reviews were in: The bridge was a sinking ship when it comes to public art. Now […]
I-77 bill faces tougher test in Senate
June 13. By Dave Vieser. It’s a given that a bill introduced by NC Rep. John Bradford which would create a fund for paying changes in the I-77 toll lane contract will face a tougher challenge in the NC Senate, but local officials, including Bradford, are optimistic. HB 1029 would create a NCDOT reserve account […]
A bridge too ugly? Town says no lipstick
By Dave Vieser. In 2015, then-Cornelius Mayor Chuck Travis announced that Gov. Pat McCrory would dedicate the new nautical-themed bridge at Exit 28. McCrory never made that trip, and the town’s investment in public art seems like a shipwreck. Million-dollar plans for additional decorations have finally been scrapped. Resident Rick Monroe, speaking at a Town […]
Retail project on W. Catawba at Knox stuck in traffic modeling right now
May 11. The approval process for the new shopping center at West Catawba and Knox Road has come to a halt while the town’s traffic engineer compiles new data in conjunction with the NCDOT. Cornelius Planning Director Wayne Herron anticipates that the required hearings before the town Architectural Review Board, Planning Board and Board of […]
Will 1 GP lane, 1 toll lane fix a ‘pig’ of a project?
May 10. By Dave Vieser. In a meeting which consumed barely more than one hour, the members of the I77 Local Advisory Group voiced nearly universal agreement to complete the current construction, then to modify the I-77 expansion in Mecklenburg County from two toll lanes to one general purpose lane and one toll lane. The […]
Little Big Burger coming to Magnolia Plaza in Cornelius
April 23. A hip new burger concept—with it’s own special ketchup and truffle fries—is going into the old Derado’s space next to Jack’s Corner Tap in Magnolia Plaza. NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin, who lives a couple of miles away in a lakefront mansion, is partnering up in the pocket-size eatery with Chanticleer Holdings, a Charlotte-based […]
