Reconnecting the West End

Colorful square logo with text that says reconnecting the west end

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) program awarded the City of Charlotte a $1M planning grant to study the existing interchanges at Interstate 77 (I-77) and West 5th Street / West Trade Street. This planning study will assess barriers to access, including safe and equitable mobility choices, and connectivity to Charlotte’s center city – “Uptown” – while balancing the goals of the community and the needs of the facility.

Get Involved – Engagement Opportunities

The first engagement opportunity was a community design charrette on March 25-26, 2025. Community members came to talk to the project team, see design work in progress, and provided ideas for Reconnecting the West End. An online survey was also circulated for the month following the charrette. Through the charrette and initial engagement process, five design alternatives were developed with the community for the I-77 West End Interchange area, and these design alternatives have been further refined through collaboration with project partners.

We have another important opportunity for additional engagement on the interchange design concept!

Community Design Public Pin-up

Event Details:
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 17, 6–8 p.m
Arts Factory / Shook Kelley, Inc. - 1545 W. Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28216.

Give feedback on design ideas for the West End interchange area (I-77 / Trade Street / 5th Street), including opportunities for new development, ideas for community spaces, and recommendations for better walking and biking conditions. Refreshments will be served.

Study Area

Charlotte’s West End is a historic Black community anchored by Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), a Historically Black University with significant ties to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. A vibrant community with a legacy of culture, the West End has a history of entrepreneurship and small business within the Black community. Developed in the late 1800s, the Five Points of the Historic West End includes four distinct neighborhoods: Biddleville, Seversville, Smallwood, and Wesley Heights. The study will focus primarily on the “West End Interchange” shown below, but will consider the impacts of a proposed project on the larger “Planning Area.”

image of a map of the study area with description below

Study Area – The West End Interchange (I-77 / West Trade St. / West 5th St.)

Project Goals

  1. Reconnect: Retrofit or mitigate I-77 facility to reconnect the West End to Uptown.
  2. Reprioritize: Meet demand while also prioritizing the safe and comfortable movement of people.
  3. Reclaim: Reclaim land from the interchange area to better connect the West End to adjacent communities.
  4. Recalibrate: Understand future demand and design currently under evaluation through I-77 South Express Lanes project.
  5. Redevelop: Develop plans & policies to support mixed-income, mixed-use development.
  6. Redesign: Deliver 10% engineering plans for a West End interchange that accomplishes the above.

Project Partners

  • NCDOT
  • Community Partners (JCSU, Inlivian, Historic West End Partners, Five Points Community Collaborative, Charlotte Center City Partners, and others)
  • Project Funders (USDOT, Knight Foundation, Fifth Third Bank / LISC, and Wells Fargo)

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