bypassing Charlotte

RenegadeT

RenegadeT

no shirt,no shoes,no dice
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Mar 24, 2005
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Stokesdale-Greensboro
What's the quickest/best way around Charlotte? Tomorrow morning we'll be heading south on 52 to I-85, eventually hitting I-95 to Orlando. Google Maps says the old way I-85 to 77 on the west side. A friend of mine said the new 485 loop around the east side is the ticket.

What do you think? :driver:
 
485 on the east side will take longer than 85 to 77 and if you just want to avoid 77 I have took 85 to 485 on the I guess the west side and come back around to 77 and got there quicker than 485 on the east side.
 
Mallard Roost Rd to Dinkins Cemetery via I-77 = 25 minutes

Mallard Roost Rd to Dinkins Cemetery via I-485 (East) = 45 minutes

Lets take 5 minutes off each time because both points are exactly dead on (Intersection of I-85 and I-485 is Mallard Roost Rd, and then Intersection of I-485 and I-77 is Dinkins Cemetery).

So 20 minutes to take I-77, and 40 minutes to take I-485. Factor in traffic you will hit slow points on both. I am not sure about I-77 north of the airport but I-77 slows down as it nears 485, and 485 slows down to a crawl as it nears Johnston Rd. Then 485 clears up as you pass over 51 right before I-77. I used to hit the traffic jam on I-485 between Johnston Rd and Highway 51 on the way to college (near the airport) every day. Its pretty consistent, once you pass the Rea Rd exit it starts to slow down till a crawl right before the Johnston Rd exit. On bad days it can back up all the way to the Providence Road exit (exit before Rea Rd).

The traffic jam right there adds at least 10 minutes onto your trip. Maybe someone more familiar with the I-77 section that runs closer to I-85 can speak up on that end traffic wise. But expect at least 50-55 minutes to make it down the east side of 485. It will start out going good till you hit the bottom part of the 485 loop near the Providence Rd and Rea Rd exits. So the first 20-30 minutes of driving will go good, but the last half is the bad part. But considering its the weekend, who knows traffic could be light.
 
Google knows all.
 
Charlotte traffic is very very light on weekends unless there is a Nascar race.
 
did I miss something.... what I want to know is why are you going towards charlotte and not towards 95 right away?

220 to 74 east to 95 south.

or are you trying to take 26 out of columbia to 95 south?
 
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