Talk:Interstate 485/GA1

GA Review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Nominator: NoobThreePointOh (talk · contribs) 00:51, 14 May 2024 (UTC)

Reviewer: Bneu2013 (talk · contribs) 00:12, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

Starting review. Bneu2013 (talk) 00:12, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

I'll probably only be able to respond to the review around the 16th since I'm on vacation right now. NoobThreePointOh (talk) 04:29, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

Sorry, but I don't think this article is ready in its current state. Some comments below.

Infobox and lead

• "Beltway around Charlotte, NC" is unconventional for a short description. For auxiliary Interstates, we would normally use something like "Interstate Highway in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Also, spell out "North Carolina".

• Per WP:LEADCITE, The entire route lies within Mecklenburg County. needs a citation either here or elsewhere.

• Use the date that the numbering was approved by AASHTO as the establishment date. This information can be found here. Also include this information in the history section.

Route description

• Link first uses of all numbered routes.

• Remove all redundant honorary names in the route description body that are mentioned in the "Dedicated and memorial names". I also suggest rearranging the "Dedicated and memorial names" section into prose form. Examples of this can be found at Interstate 40 in Tennessee#"Music Highway" and honorary designations and Interstate 75 in Michigan#Freeway names.

• Cut The segment of I-485 from here to I-85 is the latest segment of the Interstate, completed in 2015.; this is covered in the history section.

• Cut The interchange ramps were closed as part of a project to build express lanes along I-485 on August 1, 2023. and move to history section if necessary.

• Use |Convert= for all precise mileage figures.

• This isn't necessary if the current citations are adequate, but we usually use maps such as road atlases or ones provided by the respective DOT for route descriptions.

• Third paragraph in "Orientation and signage" is not cited. Also suggest combining second and third paragraphs in this section and rewording as necessary.

• Unclear if the inner-outer system has always been used on I-485.

• Cut any other information that is irrelevant to this section.

History

• Missing information about the background and planning of the route.

• Since practically all of this route was built after the National Environmental Policy Act, it was most certainly subject to multiple environmental impact studies. I strongly suggest including information about these studies; as a bonus, an EIS will usually provide information about the planning and background of the project. Most of these are available on Google Books, the Northwestern University Transportation Library, HathiTrust, and other sources.

• The first section opened around 1967, yet planning for the outerbelt didn't begin until 1975? Was the first section intended to be part of a different route? Clarification is needed for this.

• Per WP:SUMMARY there are too many short paragraphs. I suggest combining them into longer paragraphs in order to ensure no more than four paragraphs per section in most instances. This is the formula I followed with Interstate 40 in Tennessee (an FA) and other road articles I have promoted to GA. Single sentence paragraphs like In 1975, planning began for the Charlotte outerbelt. are especially discouraged.

• Suggest saying that the Governor and transportation secretary officiated the groundbreaking ceremony.

• Add the dates that work began on each section or the contract was awarded, if available.

• The entire widening project most certainly did not take place entirely in May 1999. Add the start and finish dates for the project. Ditto "October 19, 2004".

• Reword NCDOT could not immediately deal with the issue thanks to a 2000 policy that prevented the state using trust fund money to less opiniated language.

• had begun the right-of-way acquisition phase with contracts awarded in June 2010. - Right-of-way is usually acquired before construction contracts are awarded. This needs to be clarified.

• I suggest splitting this section into subsections about initial construction and post-construction activities (widenings, new interchanges, etc.), although I am aware the latter began before the route was completed. You will likely end up with a separate subsection for planning too.

• Rearrange sentences about future interchanges to include the grading first, followed by the opening date.

• I'm seeing a number of redundancies and ambiguities throughout this section. For example In 2003, the last 12.5 miles (20.1 km) needed to link main I-485 to its northern stub was completed, at a cost of $55.4 million (equivalent to $88 million in 2023[48]). Opening in two phases, the first 7.5-mile (12.1 km) segment opened on September 3, 2003, between University City Boulevard and NC 27 (Albemarle Road); two months later, the second five-mile (8.0 km) segment opened on November 19, between Albemarle Road and Lawyers Road. No need to mention "2003" or "the last 12.5 miles" in the first sentence, although I do wonder if both sections were planned to open at the same time. Suggest rewording to something like "The 7.5-mile (12.1 km) segment between University City Boulevard and NC 27 (Albemarle Road) opened on September 3, 2003. On November 19, 2003, the adjacent five-mile (8.0 km) segment extending to Lawyers Road opened. This linked main I-485 (specify what "main I-485" is) to its northern stub.

• seven-mile (11 km) segment was noted that it would relieve traffic along the Billy Graham Parkway and provide an alternative route to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. - did these benefits come to fruition?

• No mention of the I-85/485 interchange project; I see citations for this elsewhere. I also suggest moving information about congestion at this interchange from the route description here.

Future

• The toll lanes had likely been planned before November 18, 2011, since that is the date the article was published.

• At a cost of $202.9 million, the 16.6-mile (26.7 km) I-485 Express Lanes project will establish new toll lanes along its entire planned route. - "its entire planned route" is ambiguous.

• Construction was slated to begin "tentatively" in mid-2018, and is currently still going on as of 2024. - did construction start in mid-2018?

• I suggest making this a subsection of the history section, and retitling it to something like "Toll lane construction".

Exit list

• If you can find a better source than Google Maps for mileposts, this is preferred. Also, this source only covers roughly the western third of I-485.

• Citations needed for future interchanges.

References and images

• Several citations are dead and/or incomplete.

• Images are awkwardly bunched together. Suggest alternating orientations.

• Align images to where the photo of the reassurance marker appears in the "Orientation and signage" section. Reword caption to something like "A reassurance marker displayed on I-485 outbound near Matthews. As a complete beltway, I-485 uses the inner–outer directional system."

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.