People driving to Charlotte from Raleigh (and anywhere else North East of our city) will soon be greeted with a giant new ‘Gateway Bridge’.
The city is currently in the planning stages of a new infrastructure project that will connect Research Drive to J.W. Clay Boulevard, including a towering new bridge over I-85 with an artistic and soon-to-be iconic design.
Project managers are now asking for input from Charlotteans as to which design they like the best – and any other ideas or thoughts they might have.
“We will strive to incorporate the most popular features into the final design as the budget permits,” says Project Manager Dan Leaver. “The design will be one of the first things drivers see when they enter Charlotte, so we want to make sure it represents the community.”
The main differences between all 4 concepts are the exterior designs, each bridge will include two travel lanes, sidewalks, streets lighting and a two-way cycle track separated from traffic.
Here is a video of the new infrastructure improvements and the new bridge designs (skip ahead to 2:25 to see the bridge concepts):
It will be the first bridge to cross I-85 with both sidewalks and bike lanes, and it will be the first project completed with 2014 voter-approved bonds.
“Together, these projects are continuing the city’s commitment to improving our transportation network for all types of users of all different abilities — whether on foot, on a bike, in a bus or in a car,” says Leaver.
The city will take in online feedback until June 24th. They will then host an online meeting to finalize which the design.
Please provide your feedback for which bridge you like the best:
You can check out more information about the project on the city’s website here.