Driving to Charlotte Douglas International Airport? Prepare to wait in traffic

Jared Folger-Patterson arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in an Uber with his two teenage daughters ahead of a flight to New Jersey.

The Charlotte native, however, was worried that sitting in traffic would cause the group to miss their flight.

“The wait was frustrating, just because you want to get to where you’re going and at this airport, you never know how caught up you’ll also get in (TSA) lines,” Folger-Patterson said. “So, the added delay of having to wait an additional 25 minutes to half an hour in traffic – it’s very stressful for us.”

Folger-Patterson is one of many travelers who have experienced gridlock thanks to work being done on the upper-level roadway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The area, typically used for departure drop-offs, began its temporary closure last week.

The closure is part of a two-week construction project that will add an architecturally complex “canopy” at the departures platform, The Charlotte Observer reported.

The project, which has closures scheduled to last until Oct. 12, is only a single part of a larger, $608 million terminal expansion.

The average time spent in traffic from the entrance of the airport’s campus to the drop-off and pickup curb front is 20 minutes. But that average runs higher during peak hours in the afternoon around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to a Charlotte Douglas International Airport statement.

Airport officials told the Observer that the traffic travelers are experiencing is reminiscent of congestion seen during annual peak travel seasons around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

“Customers are certainly experiencing this congestion,” the statement said. “It is very similar to what we see during the holiday travel periods at the airport.”

Since the closure, travelers have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the airport’s upgrades and the subsequent traffic.

“I was at CLT... traffic was bad. I would try to get there two hours before the flight leaves,” one traveler tweeted. I got there 60 mins before takeoff and that was too close.”

Another traveler claimed to have waited 55 minutes in traffic before reaching the curb.

To reduce wait times, the airport’s shuttle buses are taking new routes and traffic control staff are posted outside to keep motorists from idling.

“We are rerouting the shuttle buses for maximum efficiency and airport staff is assisting customers along the lower level near the terminal to help move traffic safely and as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

Kimberly Houghston, a passenger who flew Charlotte from Texas, told the Observer that her ride was stuck in line but was not troubled by the delay.

“Actually, I didn’t mind the waiting much, only because (traffic control) is doing a great job of keeping folks moving along here,” Houghston said. “I fly into this airport a lot and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this organized.”

The airport strongly discourages travelers from leaving vehicles to walk through traffic. There aren’t any other options to beat the congestion other than arriving much earlier than expected, Charlotte Douglas tweeted.

The airport will continue to distribute messaging to passengers over the next two weeks, reminding them to take the possibility of congestion into consideration.

The upper-level roadway is still on track to reopen at the end of the two-week construction period, according to an airport spokesperson.