Dangerous Huntersville intersection under state investigation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The North Carolina Department of Transportation is investigating the safety of the Hambright Road and Mt. Holly-Huntersville intersection because drivers say it’s not safe.

“I’ve seen a lot of close calls, I’ve been a part of them at times,” said driver Tara Peace.

Peace has been using the Hambright and Mt. Holly-Huntersville intersection for years to get to work.

“I have definitely seen people pulled off and the after effect if that makes sense,” Peace said.

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This cautious driver isn’t the only one noticing crashes, a cashier at the nearby Marathon gas station said some weeks crashes happen back to back.

“These are a top priority so we take the very seriously for us,” division 10 traffic engineer with NCDOT Zack Gardner said.

Community members brought the issue to the attention of the local NCDOT office and they got to work. Right now, an investigation looking at crashes and visibility going back to 2019 is in the works. They are starting with 2019 because that’s when turn lanes went in and issues started to pop up.

“They added the turning lane in but there are no arrows [to the light],” Peace said.

Because the investigation is happening now, NCDOT couldn’t share how many crashes have happened in the last three years, but depending on their findings a few things can happen.

“It depends on what the investigation reveals, we’ll look for funding for potential projects if there is something that can be done,” Gardner said.

First, a list of solutions will be created. The findings and results will go to the state level where they will compete with other investigations for the state to determine how and where they are spending their money. If for any reason, the state cannot fund a solution, the issue will come back to the local NCDOT division and they will use their own funds to create a solution.

“It depends on what we find but typically we come up with solutions that can be handled at the division level as well,” Gardner said.

NCDOT couldn’t tell WBTV how long it will take them to complete the investigation or when they expect to have the results sent up to the state.

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