North Carolina transportation leaders are seeking public input on improving traffic flow on Independence Boulevard from Uptown Charlotte to Matthews.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will hold a meeting from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at East Mecklenburg High School Cafeteria, located at 6800 Monroe Road, Charlotte. This meeting aims to inform the public about the proposed project and gather input on the design.

The current U.S. 74 widening project includes adding an express lane and a general-purpose lane from west of Idlewild Road to I-485. This will result in one toll lane and three general-purpose lanes along Independence Boulevard. The $900 million project is projected to start in 2027.

Additionally, NCDOT proposed express lanes along U.S. 74 from I-277 to Idlewild Road, converting five miles of bus lanes into express lanes with a direct connector to Albemarle Road. If approved, this $105 million project is expected to begin in 2029.

The proposed project also includes improvements to interchanges along Independence Boulevard to ease congestion for drivers accessing the highway.

NCDOT representatives will be available at the meeting to answer questions and receive comments. Public input is crucial, and comments can be submitted at the meeting or via phone at (984) 205-6615, entering project code 1306, email, or NCDOT’s public input portal by Aug. 9, 2024.

Public feedback will help shape these plans to enhance traffic flow and reduce congestion on this busy corridor. The public can view project information at NCDOT’s public input portal.

Concord Mills is excited to announce a special back-to-school activation in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County.

From July 22 – Aug. 31, the mall will be hosting a donation drive to collect new and gently loved clothing for students in need this school year. Shoppers who bring in donations will receive access to the Concord Mills Savings Guide to purchase their own back-to-school essentials.

Drop offs for donations can be found at the following participating retailers within the Concord Mills mall: Lucky Brand, Aeropostale, and Nautica.

This initiative aims to support local students in our neighborhoods, so everyone feels ready to go back to the classroom. The Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County served over 1,500 youth last year, 61% of whom are from low-income families. By donating new and gently loved clothes, the community can help ensure that every student has the resources they need for a successful school year.

“We have 150 families that have signed up to receive meal boxes each week. The number of youths benefiting from this drive will depend on the amount of clothing received,” said Jeff Green from the Boys & Girls Club.

A widespread Microsoft outage has just crippled numerous data systems around the world, grounding flights, locking out banks, and freezing systems around the world.

The FAA said United, American, Delta, and Allegiant were all grounded due to the issue. In Charlotte, local DMV offices couldn’t assist customers, and Novant Health’s phone lines were down despite the website being up. Similarly, Atrium Health’s website was functional, but phones were not.

Update 7:32 a.m.: Due to the ongoing global technology impacts, CLT advises passengers to not come to the airport unless they have confirmed their flight information with the airline.

— CLT Airport (@CLTAirport) July 19, 2024

The City of Charlotte website and the York County permitting sites are currently still down, affecting access to CMPD, CFD, and online contractor services. The CATS website and Cabarrus County web services are also down.

According to Microsoft, the underlying issue has now been resolved, but there are still lingering issues in various systems.

The underlying cause has been fixed, however, residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services. We’re conducting additional mitigations to provide relief. More details can be found within the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/uFnnN6T3jN

— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024

How have the outages been affecting you?