Fastest Way: Charlotte to Wilmington

[SCCoqui]

We do this trip on a regular basis (visiting in-laws)

74 going direct may be the "fastest" way on the map but between lights and traffic it usually doesn't end up being that way.

So far the fastest route we've found with the fewest headaches is 485 to 218 to 74. It avoids the entire area of Monroe and the bottleneck that forms there.

We live in Fort Mill and it works better than even 521 to Shiloh-Unity to 9 to 177 to 74 (this is the more scenic route but you still have slowdowns on 9 through the towns of Pageland, Ruby, Chesterfield and Cheraw). You do avoid Wadesboro (a rt 74 speed trap) and Rockingham by going the southern route which is nice.

We get off 74 before Wilmington towards Shalotte / Holden Beach / Supply.

485-218-74 takes us 3.5 hours on average.
521-9-177-74 takes us 4 hours on average.

We did the direct 74 route twice and both times it was 4+ hours with the traffic (and a lot of cursing under our breath).

[Mutiny77]

It's crazy that it can take about the same amount of time to drive from Charlotte to Wilmington, Atlanta, and Savannah.

[GoPhils]

Originally Posted by SCCoqui

We do this trip on a regular basis (visiting in-laws)

74 going direct may be the "fastest" way on the map but between lights and traffic it usually doesn't end up being that way.

So far the fastest route we've found with the fewest headaches is 485 to 218 to 74. It avoids the entire area of Monroe and the bottleneck that forms there.

We live in Fort Mill and it works better than even 521 to Shiloh-Unity to 9 to 177 to 74 (this is the more scenic route but you still have slowdowns on 9 through the towns of Pageland, Ruby, Chesterfield and Cheraw). You do avoid Wadesboro (a rt 74 speed trap) and Rockingham by going the southern route which is nice.

We get off 74 before Wilmington towards Shalotte / Holden Beach / Supply.

485-218-74 takes us 3.5 hours on average.
521-9-177-74 takes us 4 hours on average.

We did the direct 74 route twice and both times it was 4+ hours with the traffic (and a lot of cursing under our breath).

Do you go from Fort Mill to the exit for 218 off 485 near PM rush hour??

[SCCoqui]

Originally Posted by GoPhils

Do you go from Fort Mill to the exit for 218 off 485 near PM rush hour??

We never go during rush hour.
No matter which direction you take your adding about 30 minutes if you head out at peak times.

I made the mistake of taking 74 during rush hour and it added an hour to my trip -- we were new to the area and I was following my GPS.

Another time we took 521 the day before Christmas Eve at 5 PM and it was backed up all the way to the exit for Carolina Reserve / Sun City. And then heavy traffic through to Lancaster.

Getting out of the Pineville / Fort Mill area is horrible if you leave between 7 AM - 9 AM or 4 PM - 6 PM.