Gaston Loop

General Information
The Gaston Loop is a proposed four-lane limited access freeway that will begin in Mecklenburg County as an extension of NC 160 in the vicinity of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and will proceed west, cross the Catawba River and reach Gaston County at a point north of the Duke Energy generating plant. From this point it will continue west, passing through the southern tier of the county. At US 321 South, it will turn to the north to Interstate 85 and ultimately tie in to US 321 at a point just north of Dallas, NC.  Since its original conception, the Gaston Loop has been split into two segments:

1. Garden Parkway (I-485 to I-85)

2. US 321 Bypass (I-85 to US 321 North).

At present, the Garden Parkway segment is under detailed study and review as a toll project by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA).

For more specific information on the Garden Parkway, please follow this link to the NC Turnpike Authority here.

Toll Projects in North Carolina

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority is authorized to develop and operate up to nine toll facilities in the state. Any toll facility developed in the state must have a free alternate route so motorists can have a choice to take the freeway or pay a toll for quicker access to their destination. Also, the NCTA cannot toll existing roadways.

Project Selection:
To be selected for consideration as a toll road, projects must meet certain criteria.

Roadway type-The road must have full control of access.

Project location-  The road must have a "free" parallel route.

Project feasibility- The road must have a high probability of being able to start construction within a reasonable time frame.

Local support- The road should have demonstrated local support or a reasonable expectation of support for development as a toll facility.

Financial feasibility- The road should be deemed to be financially feasible using available data and commercially reasonable assumptions.

Statewide or regional significance -Special consideration should be given to those projects that would play a significant role in the statewide or regional highway system or serve major economic generators.