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One project that has moved up is the West Catawba Avenue widening project. Recently, both the utility relocation and construction dates have been advanced by one year.

To review our scheduled NCDOT projects and check for updates, you can visit the Transportation & Transit page on the Town's website. This page includes information on West Catawba, US 21 Roundabouts, Northcross Drive Extension, and more. And, because we strive for transparency and want to keep our residents informed, we'll continue to share Transportation Updates at each of our Connecting Cornelius events.

Along with these NCDOT projects, there are also a number of projects managed by the Town. We recently completed the Hickory Street Extension and Nannie Potts Lane, are currently in construction for the intersection of Bailey Road and Highway 115, and will begin the Gem Street Extension at the start of the new year.

Interested in how NCDOT projects work? We'll break it down at the bottom of the page.

Let's start with who owns the roads. They're primarily maintained by two agencies: the Town of Cornelius and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The Town only maintains 104 miles of local roads while NCDOT maintains approximately 520 miles. Additionally, some roads are privately owned by developers or Homeowners Associations.

When the Town recognizes a need to widen or make improvements to state-owned roads and intersections, we work closely with NCDOT to request funding for the project. Here's the challenge: Cornelius is one of hundreds of towns that requests funding from NCDOT. And, because this volume of requests can cause a backlog, it usually takes decades for a project to go from a concept to construction.

Here's the good news: NCDOT prioritizes projects in which jurisdictions contribute financially - and we are way ahead of the game.

The Town has been earmarking and allocating funds to help support much-needed projects. In fact, the Town funds we have earmarked include $24 million in 2018 voter-approved road bonds for NCDOT projects.

There are currently 13 projects coming to Cornelius that total $419 million. This is an excellent rate of return; for every $1 contributed by the Town, NCDOT grants over $14 in funding.

In fact, per capita, the Town of Cornelius has the most NCDOT projects scheduled of any town or city in the state!

Why have we taken this unique approach to budgeting? Because, we're committed to addressing your concerns, to improving traffic in our Town, and to making Cornelius a better place for everyone, day in and day out. That's the Cornelius Way.