I-77 thru Charlotte NC or I-485 West Beltway

[Coldbear]

Which route is preferable (and why).


Traveling on I-77 straight thru Charlotte or going around Charlotte on the I-485 Beltway West.


It appears on Google Maps to only be about 5 miles difference.


Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ranger Smith]

Originally Posted by Coldbear

Which route is preferable (and why).


Traveling on I-77 straight thru Charlotte or going around Charlotte on the I-485 Beltway West.


It appears on Google Maps to only be about 5 miles difference.


Any advice would be appreciated.

We do the beltway around it . . . Less traffic

[rtaggio]

Depending on what you're driving and/or are comfortable but I77 thru Charlotte is no picnic and if the difference is just 5 miles I would take the loop over the narrower, twistier, more congested, straight thru 77 routing.

[Ben-Jo]

I-485 is such a better route in my opinion. 485 is nice, wide and generally straight. As rtaggio stated 77 is tight and twisty going through Charlotte and I have seen many wrecks on 77 over the years and very few on 485.

[BT3927]

I much prefer 485 to 77. Newer and wider.

[JMynes]

I always use the beltways around a big city if one is available. The straight through option is usually more congested with ‘local’ traffic.