Traffic between Waxhaw and Shelby (Gastonia, Kings Mountain: centers, moving, estimate)

[Maggiemovingtocharlotte1]

I have a friend coming in for a visit. She has to be in Shelby at 7 pm on a Friday night. I was told it's about a 1 hour drive. Should she anticipate heavy rush hour traffic? I am not familiar with the west side. Thanks!

[ivster]

Very much so, mainly on I-85 South in the Gastonia area

[USCRugbyNo1]

It should start to clear around that time. The longer they wait the better.

[tksuther]

It takes about 50 minutes - 1 hour with no heavy traffic.

[Comfort Food]

Distance between town centers is about 67 miles, so a better estimate is about 1 hr 15 minutes with light traffic. Of course it depends on where in "Shelby" the person is headed, there is a lot of area that has the "Shelby" address, even out to the western edge of the county.

There is going to be heavy traffic pretty much all the way, especially with it being a Friday. I think it could be tough to leave Waxhaw at 5:30 pm and be confident of being in downtown Shelby by 7. If being there at 7 is crucial I'd recommend leaving at 5:15 or maybe a hair earlier. I don't think there is any way possible to leave at 6 pm and make it by 7.

I used to drive from the Arboretum area to Shelby and it could take an hour easily, and Waxhaw is around 15 minutes further out than the Arboretem.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Maggiemovingtocharlotte1

I have a friend coming in for a visit. She has to be in Shelby at 7 pm on a Friday night. I was told it's about a 1 hour drive. Should she anticipate heavy rush hour traffic? I am not familiar with the west side. Thanks!

On a Friday, traffic on I 85 will be heavy with lots of truck traffic to the SC line. Your friend will get off at exit 10, headed to Shelby on US 74 which might also have heavy traffic through Kings Mountain.

I'd suggest following Comfort Food's advice & possibly consider leaving at 5pm, in case there is an accident. His timing is accurate.

In case of an accident on I 85, your friend should have studied a map before leaving to enable a switch from I 85 to US 74/Franklin Blvd. Franklin Blvd does have traffic lights, but that beats sitting on the interstate. It's easy to make the switch if you know where the roads are in relationship to each other in Gaston County.