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 assessed barriers to access, including safe and equitable mobility choices, and connectivity to uptown Charlotte while balancing the goals of the community and the needs of the facility.

The Reconnecting the West End planning study kicked off in Fall 2024 and recommends a preferred design alternative for the West End Interchange based on six project goals and comprised of a series of interrelated projects. The final planning study was completed by July 2026.

Planning Study (print)(PDF, 160MB)

Note: Appendices will be posted soon

Community Engagement 

Design Charette - March 25-26, 2025

  • More than 100 participants
  • Feedback on five preliminary interchange concepts and development plan

Public Survey – Spring 2025

  • More than 100 Participants
  • Received general feedback on the following: Understanding how I-77 affects connectivity for residents; community priorities for connectivity, housing, development, and amenities

Public Pin-Up - Feb. 17, 2026

  • More than 50 participants
  • Feedback and support for the Preferred Alternative

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 focused primarily on the “West End Interchange” shown below, but considered 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.)

Preferred Alternative

Presented to the public for Feedback on Feb. 17, 2026.

image of a map of the preferred alternative with description below

Preferred Alternative - Multimodal Network Diagram

Highlights:

  • Removes redundant interchange ramps
  • Enables significant land reclamation and redevelopment opportunities 
  • Supports opportunities for better pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connections 
  • Reallocates space on 5th St. to create a linear park and greenway connector
  • Maintains vehicular access between the I-77 ramp terminals, 5th St, and Trade St
  • Proposes a new two-way extension of Summit Ave. between Trade St. and 5th St.
  • Extends Irwin Creek Greenway toward Biddleville Park & McCrorey Heights
  • Establishes a dedicated guideway for Gold Line through interchange area
  • Supports future travel demand

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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