Charlotte, Triad, Raleigh and Durham

[bigboyz05]

By looking at a highway map it looks as if these cities are nearly connected. I'm just wondering does anyone here think these cities will soon merge? Also if you were to drive from Charlotte through the Tri-Cities region to Raleigh/Durham, is the traffic really bad?

[cityboi]

I think its possible that the three metro regions could one day merge into being one single metro but thats years away. The Triad and Trinagle are rapidly sprawling together. Even many of the communities between Greensboro and Charlotte are starting to create more infill development between those cities. Traffic id not bad at all. I.85/40 between Durham and Greensboro is 8 lanes. Greensboro's new souther loop has eliminated the clogging up in Greensboro Even I-40 in west Greensboro is free of traffic because there is 10 lanes of highway there. and I-85 between Greensboro and Charlotte has very little traffic. The speed limit on I-58 between Greensboro and Lexington is 70 mph. I think its the only stretch of highway in NC thats above 65 mph.

[monsoon]

..... The speed limit on I-58 between Greensboro and Lexington is 70 mph. I think its the only stretch of highway in NC thats above 65 mph.

Actually much of I-85 between Salisbury and Greensboro is 70 mph, I-40 between Statesville and Winston Salem is also 70 mph, and I-77 between Statesville and the NC border with Virgina (a pretty good stretch) is also 70 mph. I am pretty sure that I-40 out of Wilmington is 70 mph.

[Jerseyman4]

I-95, US 64 and US 264 are also at 70mph but not all stretches.

The traffic between Greensboro and Charlotte (at 4 lanes) is HORRENDOUS. Even with it having 8 lanes when the construction is finally over even then it will not be lightly traveled but there will be more room for traffic.

Metro, I-40 is 70mph roughly between Garner and Castle Hayne (eastern terminus of I-40).

[cityboi]

I-95, US 64 and US 264 are also at 70mph but not all stretches.

The traffic between Greensboro and Charlotte (at 4 lanes) is HORRENDOUS. Even with it having 8 lanes when the construction is finally over even then it will not be lightly traveled but there will be more room for traffic.

Metro, I-40 is 70mph roughly between Garner and Castle Hayne (eastern terminus of I-40).

yea I forgot about that area near Concord. There is still construction going on and its causing traffic.

[ezcheese]

I-95, US 64 and US 264 are also at 70mph but not all stretches.

The traffic between Greensboro and Charlotte (at 4 lanes) is HORRENDOUS. Even with it having 8 lanes when the construction is finally over even then it will not be lightly traveled but there will be more room for traffic.

Metro, I-40 is 70mph roughly between Garner and Castle Hayne (eastern terminus of I-40).

i drive from greensboro into charlotte every weekend now (i just got back from charlotte 20 minutes ago) and horrendus is definitely too strong a word for the traffic on I-85. it's only bad around rush hour.

if you want to see horrendus, try driving on I-93 south between boston and quincy any time during the day.

[Hotlanta]

The place that really is horrendus is I-77 northbound around 6:00 PM on a Friday evening. To get from WT Harris to 73 up in Huntersville can take up to about 2 hours! This is after the widening!

[Jerseyman4]

i drive from greensboro into charlotte every weekend now (i just got back from charlotte 20 minutes ago) and horrendus is definitely too strong a word for the traffic on I-85. it's only bad around rush hour.

if you want to see horrendus, try driving on I-93 south between boston and quincy any time during the day.

You missed what i said. At four lanes (two lanes each way), the traffic is horrendous along I-85 between G-boro and Charlotte. Otherwise at 6 or 8 lanes, the traffic is not bad nor good, its moving most of the time.

I have driven I-93 between Boston and Quincy and everytime i was on it was a weekend and did not have any problems driving through it. The city streets in Boston can be a little crazy but thats about it.

No matter how bad I-93 sounds, it cant beat the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn or the Long Island Expressway in Queens. Thats traffic 7 days a week, just about all hours of the day!

[bigboyz05]

When does rush hour typically start and end for Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and the Winston/Salem/Greensboro areas?

[southclt]

I know for Charlotte, (only speaking of I-77) rush hour "can" last from 4:30ish to being smoother around 7:00ish. Fridays are worse. But depending on the other weekdays it could be lighter or heavier, just depending. Luckily I don't have to drive in that.

485 bottle necks around the Pineville area (outer belt) and that could cause some backups for a while