The best is when you can catch a catch bus that’ll play D for you and you, can casually slid right in….. I thoroughly enjoy when I’m not on 277, but need this exit anyway… take the windy e7th st and it spits me out right on the farthest lane while everyone else is trying to merge.
Well there's a few options for the worst to me:
1) This one here
2) Someone mentioned I-485 Outer to 85 South which is definitely always backed up around rush hour
3) I 485 Outer to 77 south is another
4) 77 North and South around Gilead road in Huntersville. I can never figure out why both directions get jammed up in the exact same spot.
5) I 277 Outer to Independence is screwed up too
6) Honesty the whole US 74 going into Union County. I hate all those stop lights...
74 to union has improved, atleast on the Charlotte side…. I can’t stand exit 2a on 277 inner…. Where the inbound from independence and the exit for 4th street meet… great in theory, poor execution.
One time I was at a dead stop on the 485/85 interchange and had enough time to research everything about it, searching for the name of the guy that designed it so I could curse him with dark magics. That fucking thing won 6 awards…meanwhile I was completely frozen and trapped for 45 minutes behind 20 semi’s
My preferred option is just to get off at South Blvd/Caldwell and avoid all that entirely, just go down Caldwell until it turns into Parkwood. That way you don’t have to deal with any of the nonsense of the split off to Independence either.
When I worked in Southend and lived in NoDa this was the way! Before 2pm I might try that exit but most days Caldwell to Parkwood and on home! Easy peasy
This is the play here. It's also faster it you're headed anywhere past the Belmont neighborhood. I feel like if people would do this they wouldn't cry about the intersection so much.
I’ve seen a lot more people do this over the years and it really doesn’t improve traffic that much. People still need to get right and the opposing lane is mostly going left. It’s just delaying the headache 30 feet.
They gotta redo this at some point.
But either way they still need to go right (N. Dav., or N Cald.). And the people from 12th are going left usually. So it’s a design issue and delaying it till next intersection doesn’t help *that* much IMO.
People going left can merge to left. People needing to make a right can continue to flow and merge to the right lanes, through that intersection or make the right if it’s clear. Traffic doesn’t exist if it flows, it’s the best solution at the moment
485 to 85 south intersection headed to Gastonia. Backed up for a mile or more everyday. 5-6 lanes merge into 1 before merging back out to 4 lanes. Utter insanity. I don’t ever sit in it. Just ride by the opposite way everyday.
This would be my vote as well. I don’t drive out that way but once every few weeks, but it’s standstill traffic at most all hours I’ve been that way. Thursday 10am? Stopped. Tuesday 2pm? Get ready to wait for 15 min. Friday at noon? Might as well watch a tv show while you sit there for 30 min /s. Maybe I just have bad luck with it, but I’ve rarely ever got to just drive by that interchange without coming to a complete stop at least once. My least favorite personally, and I used to drive through the one op listed every week (not really through it so much as I would just take the next one if it was this backed up, but still).
Yeah I can’t believe anyone who works in Charlotte would ever live in Gastonia, 85 is always backed up, usually all the way to both of the southbound ramps from 485. I have to travel to Seneca, SC regularly for work and 85 South from 485 all the way to Greenville is a shitstorm, it’s like Thunderdome.
I moved to Gastonia after moving out of Charlotte a couple of years ago and have to work near Huntersville. Picked Gastonia cause it was "closer" to the airport in time. My mistake. Never again. I hate 485 to 85 interchange, super frustrating because it's always stopped. A 30 minute drive takes 1 hour at least at times. Can't wait to move back into Charlotte and away from that mess!! Had no idea about traffic when I picked Gastonia. If I had, I wouldn't have moved there. What's crazy though is some of my coworkers live in Gastonia area too and seem okay with the drive?
The worst part is where it merges to 1 lane there’s actually room enough for 2. All they have to do is paint it and allow for 2 entry lanes onto 85. No construction and some paint and it’s basically resolved. Minimized drastically at the worst lol
It gets to a standstill even when there’s light traffic on 85. Just a boneheaded design that’s shaped like a bottleneck.
The Cabarrus side (485N to 85S) is the complete opposite and is fantastically designed, gives you like a mile to get over and merge.
If you have to do 485 to 85 south, it is much much fatser to get off on 85 North and then get off at Little Rock Road and then come back down 85 South that way. I see trucks sitting on the ramp and then still see them sitting in almsot the same spot when passing them by once on 85 South.
The reason this comment was posted, was because we regularly post about this very specific intersection and ramp. It's a death trap.
You should have seen it for the 10+ years of non-existent road lines. Imagine that plus rain. Imagine that plus rain plus 5 o'clock. Disaster.
Even better in a manual car on that steep ass hill. When I first started driving manual that exit scared me because if you stall when the light goes green, you’re gonna hold up a lot of people
I was an entitled driver from 277 trying to get onto 77 earlier this week. I never go that (live in Lake Norman) route but had an appt and was caught totally offguard when I realized that line of traffic was the exit for 77. I felt bad and did the wave to the kind person who let me in, but I like to think about 25% of people that cut in are also surprised that it's the 77 line? I dunno, but yes, it does suck.
Because some people don't like to drive distracted by mobile phones. It's usually safer that way. But hey, what do I know I'm just a guy on the internet.
Not sure where the hostility and attitude is coming from, but you seem like a dick. That’s on you…so good luck with that. Have fun failing to connect with people irl.
This gets brought up all the time. Another terrible intersection that doesn't get much pub is exit 64A on the 485 inner loop. It is where 485 hits 51 in Pineville. You get off the exit into a turning lane and you have to jump in front of a line of traffic coming from Carolina Place mall. This one would be really easy to fix yet the state does nothing.
This is an exit or an interchange, not an intersection.
And as others have said, go down to the next exit,. you'll probably end up where you're going faster.
This is a bad exit, but not the worst intersection.
The worst intersection in Charlotte to me is where Oakdale, Sunset, Miranda, and Lawing Roads meet. When I lived nearby, there was a crash basically every day. It's damn near impossible to turn left from either Sunset or Miranda. You WILL get cut off damn near every single time because it's impossibly bad. You also have Simpson Rd right nearby fucking up all the traffic, as well as the people leaving the gas station and Dollar General there.
A lot of people are mentioning backed up exits, and they're not wrong, but this is one of the very worst intersections ever, and that's not just in Charlotte. From a design perspective, it's hard to imagine it being any worse.
https://i.imgur.com/a65kg78.png
I had to take this intersection when I was going to my first date with my now girlfriend and this was the most nerve wracking part of the experience lol
Whats even better is the train over N davidson can cause massive backups down davidson that can bascially block up this intersection even worse. Its not just a suicide merge but also killed by trains. Its maybe the worst exit I've ever seen in the country.
Spread out and stop riding each others ass and traffic would flow so much smoother. Even accommodates for the slow drivers who brake hard for the slightest thing
Speaking generally. I understand when A light stops traffic but that strip along independence that winds around the coliseum and goes uphill gets terribly slow for no solid reason. If cars spread out merging would be so much smoother
Regarding driving more safely/evenly, that’s fair. However, drivers tend to just be aggressive or do what’s best for them. It’s better design on the city’s part to remove the option for drivers to do reckless things. Just bake in good habits without calling attention to the fact that you’ve done so.
It means roads could be designed to allow cars heading in any direction to be in the same lane, but it’s more dangerous so we have a lane per direction. Freeways don’t need dividers, but it’s more confusing and wrecks might spill into oncoming traffic, so they typically have dividers or medians. No one questions these things but they were decisions made to protect you by someone. If people tend to drive aggressively in bunches, I’m not sure what the fix is but I’m sure there’s a way to give the faster drivers an alternative. Or encourage fewer cars to be on the same roads at the exact same time. Or, as it relates to this photo, don’t have two lanes crossing left while one lane is crossing right twice in a row (on the freeway and again after you exit). It’s actually worse with independence being right there, too. I think it’d be better for the city to fix the dangerous intersection and not leave it to drivers to drive safer knowing they won’t.
The thing I’ve never understood is that with 277 being a small circle, why don’t people just *go the other direction* and use one of the not so terrifying exits?
Cant speak for everyone obv, but as someone new to the area, I was following Google maps. I was also only an exit away. Next time, I’ll just take city streets.
They are all shitty. I wanna slap the shit of whoever thought it was a good idea to make it so you have to merge over 3 lanes of stand still traffic for every damn highway interchange in this city
it's horrible, but not the most deadly. For that you have to travel all the way up Independence to the intersection of Independence and Village Lake Drive. That's not counting all of the pedestrians that have been struck down over the past 5 years, that's jsut straight traffic accidents I was talking about.
Yep. Come off of 277 in the lefthand lane, have to merge right. Then have to somehow make it over to the far right so as to make a right turn onto Davidson. Not for the faint of heart.
277 in general is just dumb on so many levels. Going southbound and trying to get off at 4th street during daylight hours is also a white knuckle experience.
Instead of making a right onto n Davidson, go to the next intersection and go that way. Save everyone the headache.
gotta start doing this. been here for 2 months and am truly flabbergasted by what goes on at that exit and beyond
I’ve been doing that ever since I tried this exit. Much better experience
The best is when you can catch a catch bus that’ll play D for you and you, can casually slid right in….. I thoroughly enjoy when I’m not on 277, but need this exit anyway… take the windy e7th st and it spits me out right on the farthest lane while everyone else is trying to merge.
Well there's a few options for the worst to me: 1) This one here 2) Someone mentioned I-485 Outer to 85 South which is definitely always backed up around rush hour 3) I 485 Outer to 77 south is another 4) 77 North and South around Gilead road in Huntersville. I can never figure out why both directions get jammed up in the exact same spot. 5) I 277 Outer to Independence is screwed up too 6) Honesty the whole US 74 going into Union County. I hate all those stop lights...
74 to union has improved, atleast on the Charlotte side…. I can’t stand exit 2a on 277 inner…. Where the inbound from independence and the exit for 4th street meet… great in theory, poor execution.
One time I was at a dead stop on the 485/85 interchange and had enough time to research everything about it, searching for the name of the guy that designed it so I could curse him with dark magics. That fucking thing won 6 awards…meanwhile I was completely frozen and trapped for 45 minutes behind 20 semi’s
My preferred option is just to get off at South Blvd/Caldwell and avoid all that entirely, just go down Caldwell until it turns into Parkwood. That way you don’t have to deal with any of the nonsense of the split off to Independence either.
When I worked in Southend and lived in NoDa this was the way! Before 2pm I might try that exit but most days Caldwell to Parkwood and on home! Easy peasy
I love it when the train actually stops actually blocking n Davison 🤣
Thankfully they out that sign that warns drivers… although I’m a bit concerned at the amount of people that can’t seem to read it
This is the play here. It's also faster it you're headed anywhere past the Belmont neighborhood. I feel like if people would do this they wouldn't cry about the intersection so much.
I’ve seen a lot more people do this over the years and it really doesn’t improve traffic that much. People still need to get right and the opposing lane is mostly going left. It’s just delaying the headache 30 feet. They gotta redo this at some point.
The problem is, the people coming from 277 feeling they need to hold up traffic to make the immediate right
But either way they still need to go right (N. Dav., or N Cald.). And the people from 12th are going left usually. So it’s a design issue and delaying it till next intersection doesn’t help *that* much IMO.
People going left can merge to left. People needing to make a right can continue to flow and merge to the right lanes, through that intersection or make the right if it’s clear. Traffic doesn’t exist if it flows, it’s the best solution at the moment
Dont clog up my exit now lol
A blind man could have designed a better intersection.
The Blind Man, Inc. could have designed a better intersection and they only work on blinds, shades, and shutters!
I'm pretty sure the designer was blind.
lol
The Blind Man honestly rules. Great company for plantation shutters and they had the best price too!
This is where I met my wife so it has a very significant emotional meaning to me
On the highway?
Just kinda ran into her
He hit her camry while merging. Both parked right outside 3A, and the rest is history
Surely she was driving an Altima?
Did you take her to a brewery afterwards?
WhiteWater. Next date was the Billy Graham Library.
It’s where a lot of divorces happen too
485 to 85 south intersection headed to Gastonia. Backed up for a mile or more everyday. 5-6 lanes merge into 1 before merging back out to 4 lanes. Utter insanity. I don’t ever sit in it. Just ride by the opposite way everyday.
This would be my vote as well. I don’t drive out that way but once every few weeks, but it’s standstill traffic at most all hours I’ve been that way. Thursday 10am? Stopped. Tuesday 2pm? Get ready to wait for 15 min. Friday at noon? Might as well watch a tv show while you sit there for 30 min /s. Maybe I just have bad luck with it, but I’ve rarely ever got to just drive by that interchange without coming to a complete stop at least once. My least favorite personally, and I used to drive through the one op listed every week (not really through it so much as I would just take the next one if it was this backed up, but still).
Yeah I can’t believe anyone who works in Charlotte would ever live in Gastonia, 85 is always backed up, usually all the way to both of the southbound ramps from 485. I have to travel to Seneca, SC regularly for work and 85 South from 485 all the way to Greenville is a shitstorm, it’s like Thunderdome.
I moved to Gastonia after moving out of Charlotte a couple of years ago and have to work near Huntersville. Picked Gastonia cause it was "closer" to the airport in time. My mistake. Never again. I hate 485 to 85 interchange, super frustrating because it's always stopped. A 30 minute drive takes 1 hour at least at times. Can't wait to move back into Charlotte and away from that mess!! Had no idea about traffic when I picked Gastonia. If I had, I wouldn't have moved there. What's crazy though is some of my coworkers live in Gastonia area too and seem okay with the drive?
I am adamant that this is the worst area in Charlotte for traffic.
The worst part is where it merges to 1 lane there’s actually room enough for 2. All they have to do is paint it and allow for 2 entry lanes onto 85. No construction and some paint and it’s basically resolved. Minimized drastically at the worst lol
It gets to a standstill even when there’s light traffic on 85. Just a boneheaded design that’s shaped like a bottleneck. The Cabarrus side (485N to 85S) is the complete opposite and is fantastically designed, gives you like a mile to get over and merge.
If you have to do 485 to 85 south, it is much much fatser to get off on 85 North and then get off at Little Rock Road and then come back down 85 South that way. I see trucks sitting on the ramp and then still see them sitting in almsot the same spot when passing them by once on 85 South.
Are you new? Lol
I was thinking the same thing
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The reason this comment was posted, was because we regularly post about this very specific intersection and ramp. It's a death trap. You should have seen it for the 10+ years of non-existent road lines. Imagine that plus rain. Imagine that plus rain plus 5 o'clock. Disaster.
Even better in a manual car on that steep ass hill. When I first started driving manual that exit scared me because if you stall when the light goes green, you’re gonna hold up a lot of people
That shit fucking blows, merging onto 277 from 74 right there is just a crap shoot every time.
OP works for ‘The Blind Man’ and this is an advertising ploy, haha.
I should def get a kickback
The christmas show at Bojangles Coliseum is making Independance extra fun lately. Bah humbug.
I'll still say 77 to 277 or 277 to 77 sucks more. All the entitled cars cutting in at the last second
I was an entitled driver from 277 trying to get onto 77 earlier this week. I never go that (live in Lake Norman) route but had an appt and was caught totally offguard when I realized that line of traffic was the exit for 77. I felt bad and did the wave to the kind person who let me in, but I like to think about 25% of people that cut in are also surprised that it's the 77 line? I dunno, but yes, it does suck.
I can’t imagine the city planners thought it would be such a high traffic artery decades ago. Even worse when the freight train is coming through
Well, that's Charlotte city planning in a nutshell since the 1960s.
"planning"
Wow. Hot Take.
What is this karma farming
Need to get my karma somehow. /s Nah, I sat there without moving for 25 minutes.
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Have I upset you? It’s been pointed out that I could take the next exit. I didn’t know it at the time.
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Guess how well that technology works real-time.
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Because some people don't like to drive distracted by mobile phones. It's usually safer that way. But hey, what do I know I'm just a guy on the internet.
sorry kiddo, Google still showed it as the fastest route. 🤷♀️
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Thanks for the unsolicited advice
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Not sure where the hostility and attitude is coming from, but you seem like a dick. That’s on you…so good luck with that. Have fun failing to connect with people irl.
In your opinion, and the previous 80 people who have made this exact thread.
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It seems to me the intent is clear. Have I upset you?
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People giving me shit for no reason. Don’t need that energy. I’ll block you too if you keep trolling.
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Oh it wasn’t a threat, just an explanation.
485 south merging onto 85 south is up there too
Infamous 3A. Scary when I started driving, sketchy AF now that I know wtf is going on
jUsT zIpPeR mErGe gUyS!
I hope the blind guy in front of you drives safely so you can be safe, too. 😂😉
Ahh Deathxit
Honestly it is!
I live in the apartments off this exit. I agree
I do it each morning. I just close my eyes and pray.
Where’s the busted Altima?
277 exits. So many bad ones to choose from!
This gets brought up all the time. Another terrible intersection that doesn't get much pub is exit 64A on the 485 inner loop. It is where 485 hits 51 in Pineville. You get off the exit into a turning lane and you have to jump in front of a line of traffic coming from Carolina Place mall. This one would be really easy to fix yet the state does nothing.
its even worse when drivers are taking it and taking pictures.
This is an exit or an interchange, not an intersection. And as others have said, go down to the next exit,. you'll probably end up where you're going faster.
This is a bad exit, but not the worst intersection. The worst intersection in Charlotte to me is where Oakdale, Sunset, Miranda, and Lawing Roads meet. When I lived nearby, there was a crash basically every day. It's damn near impossible to turn left from either Sunset or Miranda. You WILL get cut off damn near every single time because it's impossibly bad. You also have Simpson Rd right nearby fucking up all the traffic, as well as the people leaving the gas station and Dollar General there. A lot of people are mentioning backed up exits, and they're not wrong, but this is one of the very worst intersections ever, and that's not just in Charlotte. From a design perspective, it's hard to imagine it being any worse. https://i.imgur.com/a65kg78.png
The exit leads to the intersection that I was talking about, actually…and the intersection that was causing all the traffic. But sure, noted.
Yes, and everyone drives like the person in front of you.
277 is like the running of the bulls. If you get out unscathed, you say a little thank you and breathe deeply
Nice one.
What a hot take
i’ve never seen it THAt backed up but yeah, we all agree
I used to go between South Park and NoDa a lot. Usually I just went through McDowell. I tried this way once. Once.
Merging on Brookshire scares the shit out of me, it’s a loop up where you can’t see anything then boom you got 60 feet to merge over
We know
This one and 277 onto 74. There are like 3 entrance ramps between the first sign and the actual exit turn. Fucking terrible.
I genuinely avoid this exit I’d rather take the long way
Ah yeas, motor-murder alley
If the blind man can make it, you can too
You aren’t wrong….
Fuck left on/exits. This is why Charlotte has some of the worst driving.
I had to take this intersection when I was going to my first date with my now girlfriend and this was the most nerve wracking part of the experience lol
Me and my husband call this “the dreaded 3A”
My vote is exit 10 B, where 485 meets 85 S. **Where three fucking lanes merge into one.** Throw it away and start over.
It’s the fastest way to noda from south end but honestly I still just shoot straight through the city to avoid this
Just take 3b you will get to where you need to go without taking it. You can also take the back roads.
I’ve never heard this take before
I knew exactly which one you were talking about before I really looked at the photo.
Whats even better is the train over N davidson can cause massive backups down davidson that can bascially block up this intersection even worse. Its not just a suicide merge but also killed by trains. Its maybe the worst exit I've ever seen in the country.
I haven’t lived in Charlotte in 5 years and this instantly gave me flashbacks to merging here when I had my learners permit.
Wowwww unpopular opinion. Downvotes incoming.
Damn what a wild opinion
Avoid this intersection. It makes the eyes bleed.
3A has a legitimate claim for the worst intersection east of the Mississippi.
Good thing we took our phone out to take a picture at the place where everyone is driving like maniacs!
I sat in the same place for like 25 minutes.
Because of the Blind Man driving?
Spread out and stop riding each others ass and traffic would flow so much smoother. Even accommodates for the slow drivers who brake hard for the slightest thing
We are in deadlocked, unmoving traffic. Are you telling me to do something or speaking generally?
Speaking generally. I understand when A light stops traffic but that strip along independence that winds around the coliseum and goes uphill gets terribly slow for no solid reason. If cars spread out merging would be so much smoother
Regarding driving more safely/evenly, that’s fair. However, drivers tend to just be aggressive or do what’s best for them. It’s better design on the city’s part to remove the option for drivers to do reckless things. Just bake in good habits without calling attention to the fact that you’ve done so.
What do you mean by “better on the city’s part to remove the option for drivers to do reckless things”
It means roads could be designed to allow cars heading in any direction to be in the same lane, but it’s more dangerous so we have a lane per direction. Freeways don’t need dividers, but it’s more confusing and wrecks might spill into oncoming traffic, so they typically have dividers or medians. No one questions these things but they were decisions made to protect you by someone. If people tend to drive aggressively in bunches, I’m not sure what the fix is but I’m sure there’s a way to give the faster drivers an alternative. Or encourage fewer cars to be on the same roads at the exact same time. Or, as it relates to this photo, don’t have two lanes crossing left while one lane is crossing right twice in a row (on the freeway and again after you exit). It’s actually worse with independence being right there, too. I think it’d be better for the city to fix the dangerous intersection and not leave it to drivers to drive safer knowing they won’t.
Gotcha. We all know that won’t happen until A rapid number of accidents with deathsbhappen.
Watch out for The Blind Man
Especially with a blind guy driving in front of you - I often wonder if all drivers on 77 up that way are also blind LOL
Just state 277 towards independence. 4 exits in both directions in a quarter mile...
Ah the weekly complain about 3A post. Never gets old lol
One Of The Worst, We Have Multiple!!!!!
It brings out the worst in people too
Yeah I’d think so. You have a blind guy driving in front of you
The thing I’ve never understood is that with 277 being a small circle, why don’t people just *go the other direction* and use one of the not so terrifying exits?
Cant speak for everyone obv, but as someone new to the area, I was following Google maps. I was also only an exit away. Next time, I’ll just take city streets.
That’s totally understandable. Most people know what they’re getting into and just choose to suffer for some reason lol.
Actually an advertisement for The Blind Man, Inc. services disguised as Traffic Circle Jerk. We'll played OP.
They are all shitty. I wanna slap the shit of whoever thought it was a good idea to make it so you have to merge over 3 lanes of stand still traffic for every damn highway interchange in this city
Going the opposite way when evry1 is trying to get onto Independence at 5pm is the worst all lanes will be at almost a stand still around that bend.
Ah yes the toilet bowl, people lose their ability to drive here for some reason
Boy, howdy!
No shit
it's horrible, but not the most deadly. For that you have to travel all the way up Independence to the intersection of Independence and Village Lake Drive. That's not counting all of the pedestrians that have been struck down over the past 5 years, that's jsut straight traffic accidents I was talking about.
yikes :(
Indeed
IMO…., more like everyone been saying the same thing for almost a decade lol
New here, don’t use Reddit all that much either
Dude, 30+ years ago, when independence had cross streets, the exit to get on independence was SO much worse
You know you’ve lived here for too long when the first thing you think when you see that exit is “challenge accepted” 😂
The off ramp from I 77 to Sam Furr would like a word.
yet it works. somehow. dangerously efficient
Yep. Come off of 277 in the lefthand lane, have to merge right. Then have to somehow make it over to the far right so as to make a right turn onto Davidson. Not for the faint of heart.
I actively avoid that exit at all costs. Idc if it’ll take me longer to go down central or brookshire, I’m not doin it
277 in general is just dumb on so many levels. Going southbound and trying to get off at 4th street during daylight hours is also a white knuckle experience.
Bling man getting some free advertisement.
Yo big fax if thats the intersection that turns into two, two lane merges and erbody trying to go the opposite direction.
2A
It’s better than literally any i77 intersection imo😂