STEELE CREEK NEWS

Date for Highway 160 Construction Start Changes Again

(June 12, 2023) The date for construction to begin on widening the section of Highway 160 (Steele Creek Road) north of S Tryon Street has been pushed back a year to 2029.

The Highway 160 widening project is divided into two parts: Part A from the South Carolina state line to Highway 49 (S Tryon Street), and Part B from Highway 49 to just north of I-485. In February, the schedule was for both sections to start construction in 2028. But in June the North Carolina Board of Transportation adopted the new 2024-2033 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which identifies transportation projects that will receive funding from 2024 to 2033. The start date is still 2028 for Part A, but the start date has been pushed back to fiscal year 2029 for Part B.

Below are the slides showing the status of Highway 160 that Stuart Basham, Division 10 DM-STIP Program Manager, presented at Charlotte City Council Member Victoria Watlington's Town Hall on June 3.

See the full STIP Here. Highway 160 is on Page 141.

Plans call for Highway 160 to be widened to four lanes with a grassy median, bike paths, and sidewalks from the state line to Shopton Road West and to six lanes from Shopton Road West to I-485. Construction is expected to last for four years.  The estimated cost of the entire project in the STIP is $221,699,000.

The design tends to improve traffic flow along Highway 160 by restricting most left turns and requiring motorists to turn right and make U-turns. It uses Reduced Conflict Intersections and a continuous flow intersection. Click on this link for more information on Reduced Conflict Intersections.

Here is the complete presentation.