Charlotte Douglas International Traffic Jam (The Great Moveway Jam Revisited)

Charlotte Douglas International is run by a morons. Need proof? Look no further than the mega idiot fiasco of the "temporary closure" of the Terminal Departures level roadway.  

If you took it at face value from the Charlotte Douglas International staff you'd say it don't look that bad.

But the real view is this:

The management of Charlotte Douglas International Airport has never accepted the input from Charlotte residents or area travelers.

Countless people complained about the old cell phone lot only to have the "new lot"  constructed with even less forethought. Now they've moved the lot again.

Signage is awful, creating confusion for new visitors and just plain "SMDH" from frequent travelers. 

Departing the terminal the signs are pretty straight forward. Left lane to I-85 and I-485 Uptown and the two right lanes to I-77 and Billy Graham Parkway.

Drive 100 yards and the lanes are marked on the pavement from left to right with 85 - 485 - 77 - 77

But be careful if you stay right you'll end up not on I-77 but in a parking lot.

As are the overhead signs

Drive another 300 yards and the sign says I-85 I-485 and Uptown these two lanes.

But that is not what happens up ahead. This sign says to I-485 "Return to Terminal" in the left lane and the two right lanes for I-85. Notice the car straddling the two lanes.

Another 200 yards and I-485 is a right turn but not here no it's up there. Notice the car straddling the left side lane stripe? 

 One of the first stories I ever read in my Quail Hollow Junior High School library was a 1979 fiction piece in Omni Magazine titled "The Great Moveway Jam" by John Keefeauver. I remember the story of a traffic jam that extended for miles and lasted for months and the government decided on a simple solution, which was to build walls along the sides of the road expressway, and later fill the walls with concrete, encapsulating all the cars and drivers in a concrete tomb, to which a new highway would be built on top. Problem solved. I've always thought it odd that the story has stuck with me all these years, until now. A quick search of the wonderful "internet" and I find there are other sci-fi sickos who remember the story. And much to my surprise ta da here it is. Part One is Here Part Two is Here