Carolinas Real Estate Talk: Monroe Connector/Bypass
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority held a series of public meetings this week to present the latest design plans for the Monroe Connector/Bypass. Anyone who lives in northern Union County NC or anyone who is considering a purchase of property there should know about this proposed roadway. It is a great relief to property owners and prospective property owners to finally have a fairly good idea of the proposed route and which properties, neighborhoods and towns will be affected.
What is the Monroe Connector/Bypass and what is its history?
The bypass is a 21.1 mile limited access roadway that begins at U.S.74 between Marshville and Wingate in eastern Union County. It will run through northern Union County and connect again with U.S. 74 in the vicinity of I-485 in Matthews. This roadway has been under consideration by Union County officials for many years but no funding was available to complete its planning and construction. The first section of the roadway from Marshville to Highway 601 north of Monroe was identified and right-of-way was purchased a number of years ago but because the roadway stopped midway along the proposed route, no funding was available to construct it. A plan to connect the bypass with U.S. 74 just north of Monroe failed several years ago.
After failure of the shorter route, the whole project was turned over to the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. The roadway has now been funded through tolls to be collected by the Turnpike Authority and funding from the State of North Carolina. The NC Turnpike Authority has just released the functional design plans and is preparing the draft environmental impact statement and preferred alternative plan to be released in December 2008. After a series of public hearings in 2009, a final decision on the route will be made by the NC Turnpike Authority in October 2009. The construction contract will be awarded in November 2009 with the road projected to open in 2013.
How can I find the proposed route for the Monroe Connector/Bypass?
The functional design plans showing the proposed route along with alternative routes in several spots can be viewed at the NC Turnpike Authority website. The road plans are divided into twelve segments shown in a Key. Each of the segment maps shows the broad study area within which the roadway can be built and the currently proposed location of the actual roadway. This is a major improvement in available information about the project's impacts. The maps show parcels affected and nearby neighborhoods.
Will there be more changes to the functional design plans?
Several of the segments have alternative routes. One of the most contentious areas has been the segment at the Matthews end of the project where one proposed route goes through Stallings and the other through Indian Trail. The design engineers say the the final route will be based on their analysis of all the impacts of the proposed roadway in an area: cost, environmental, properties impacted and social impacts. The Turnpike Authority will make the final decision on the route after the public hearings.
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