CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the next 20 years, traffic on I-485 in the Ballantyne area will go from 125,000 vehicles per year, to 220,000.

With widening on that highway set to begin next summer, the North Carolina Department of Transportation is thinking bigger. That's where a toll comes in to help pay for even more lanes.

"Well, I think if you have the option to pay or not pay, you're not really forcing anybody," said Ballantyne resident Amanda Spacek, who works in Union County as a special education teacher.

With a commute opposite than everyone else in South Charlotte, "no, no, we're never stuck in traffic," said Spacek.

But her husband Tony is a different story, since he works near uptown Charlotte.

"His morning commute is not as bad as the afternoon cause he goes in a lot earlier than what most people do," said Spacek, "but he comes home at the same time as everybody else."

So for those drivers who spend almost an hour in their cars, there is some relief in sight, at a cost. DOT wants to add four lanes, not three as originally planned, each way on I-485 from  I-77 to Johnston Road.

One lane in each direction would have a toll, where single drivers pay. That money would then help add a lane each way from Johnston Road to Read Road.

"After all these years, we're finally going to see some traffic free up," said Ray Eschert, founder of the community group Ballantyne Breakfast Club. "And, will be much more comfortable being able to commute throughout the area."

Eschert has found most area residents don't mind the toll lane edition, as long as traffic moves. But there's concern that having I-485 go from four lanes to three lanes at Johnston Road would create the same bottleneck that currently exists. 

Eschert says keep in mind where most I-485 traffic flow goes and comes from. "Of the two intersections - Providence Road and Johnston Road - Johnston Road gets the most traffic."

For commuters who want to avoid I-485 all together, there are other road projects that will help with congestion in the Ballantyne area. For example, on North Community House Road, NC DOT plans to build a bridge over I-485 for the South Charlotte commuters.

While residents contemplate the costs of a toll road versus time on the road, Spacek plans to support whatever gets her husband home earlier.

"Yes, a lot sooner, probably it'll help a lot of families."

The Ballantyne Breakfast Club will meet at 9am on Saturday, December 1, to discuss these and other road projects impacting the area.  The improvement meeting takes place in the main ballroom at the Ballantyne Hotel.