If you’re planning to visit downtown Charlotte this weekend, expect to encounter a large number of runners and fitness enthusiasts. The Around the Crown 10K will take place this Sunday at 7:30 a.m., featuring a 6.2-mile route that includes a segment on Interstate 277’s inner loop. The event will significantly impact traffic as runners make their way through the city streets.
As per the North Carolina Department of Transportation and city leaders who have greenlit the event, the race is strategically planted on the morning of a holiday weekend so as to barely inconvenience the flow of cars. The planners aim to ensure to provide maximum safety while having minimal impact on local traffic. Measures, we're told, will kick in early, with traffic control installation starting at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m., taking approximately four hours.
Meanwhile, drivers will need to reroute their Sunday morning drives as access to I-277’s inner loop will be temporarily off-limits from I-77 North or South, Independence Boulevard, and the Brookshire Freeway, along with some smaller interchanges within said inner loop. If you're trying to cross the city, plan to go around—way around. The outer loop, at least, will remain open to traffic.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is set to alert commuters in advance via overhead message signs signaling the closure far before their rubber meets the road. The last athlete to tread asphalt will signal the start of traffic control removal, but motorists shouldn't expect to have I-277 as an option until afternoon.
