Opinions on the reconfiguration of the NC-16 and NC-150 interchange, Killian Crossroads, have been mixed.
The project, completed in late August, added new turn lanes and reconfigured existing turn lanes on NC-150 and NC-16 in a bid to alleviate traffic. The project is unrelated to the delayed expansion of NC-150 between Lake Norman and Chronicle.
“That intersection [improvement] is not associated with the NC-150 widening project, but [is] a developer project [constructed by] Shannon Woods,” said Jennifer Goodwin, communications officer for the NC Department of Transportation.
Shannon Woods, a residential housing development created by Lennar, is located near the intersection. The development, when completed, will boast over eight hundred homes, several hundred of which have already been constructed.
Some drivers have expressed concerns about the way Shannon Woods reconfigured the intersection.
“As a former CDL driver I’ve been all over this country and never seen intersections as poorly designed as the ones around here,” wrote one driver. “They are literally designed for one purpose only and that is for them to be constructed quickly.”
Complaints primarily focus on the light cycle, which some residents say is too short and does not allow enough traffic to turn from NC-16 onto NC-150. This, residents say, causes traffic backups.
“[It’s] completely ridiculous,” one resident wrote. “The design and timing of the lights suck. Just wait until they get all these apartments filled up.”
Drivers also complain that the turn radius has been reduced, which they say will lead to issues when large vehicles attempt to make the turns.
“Tractor trailers are having a blast with the shortened right lane,” a citizen wrote. “Those on the right side of the highway 16 lanes have to back up and many don’t understand [that] those big trucks need room. They don’t move, neither does that truck. Can you say traffic jam?”
Some residents say the new configuration has increased the general traffic at the intersection.
“Lived in this area for 30 years and that’s the biggest mess at that intersection now,” one driver wrote. “First time I went through there I couldn’t believe someone thought this was a good idea.Traffic backed up worse than ever now.”
Others praise the new configuration, noting that the old configuration led drivers to attempt the left turn off of northbound NC-16 business too quickly, sometimes turning in front of other vehicles.
“I’ve been here 10 years and go through that intersection quite a lot,” a resident wrote. “I’m glad they put turn signal lights there. [There are] too many nutjobs that think they are skilled drivers and are far from it.”
Residents say the reconfiguration of the interchange is long overdue. The NC Department of Transportation has had plans to expand NC-150 to four or more lanes for decades. Though the project recently broke ground in Iredell County, the Catawba County portion of the project was again delayed this year.
“[The layout of the intersection] was 200 years old,” one resident wrote. “Traffic was terrible and we needed turn lanes.”
Aerial images of Killian Crossroads from 1957 confirm that until the August redesign, the intersection has not undergone significant change in 70 years.
Some drivers believe that the road’s configuration is not the primary problem.
“It’s not the roads, it’s the drivers on cell phones or playing with the radio or chatting with their passengers,” a citizen wrote. “It’s also the arrogant drivers who believe they are the most important driver on the road and have the right to ignore traffic signals and block intersections.”
Lennar Corporation was contacted for comment but did not reply at the time of publication.