Gastonia tourist information
Gastonia is located in the heart of the Piedmont section of North Carolina and encompasses approximately 43.5 square miles. With a population of 66,277 in 2000, the City is 22 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina, and approximately 165 miles southwest of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina. Incorporated in 1877, Gastonia is the county seat of Gaston County and is the second largest city in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area ("MSA") as identified by the United States Bureau of the Census. The MSA has a population of more than 1,200,000 persons and is currently listed as the 33rd largest MSA in the nation. The City has a broad industrial, office and commercial base and is the 11th largest city in North Carolina.
Gastonia is traversed from east to west by Interstate Highway 85 and by U.S. Highway 29-74. North-South access is provided by U.S. Highway 321. U.S. Highway 74 extends from the deep water port facility at Wilmington through the commercial heartland of the Piedmont Industrial Crescent. Interstate Highway 85 and Highway 29 extend from South Hill, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. These traffic arteries carry the main traffic flow for the Piedmont industrial area. In 1999, the 30-mile segment of U.S. 321 from Gastonia to I-40 in Hickory was completed as a four-lane divided, limited access, highway. A major long range transportation objective is the U.S. Highway 74/321 Bypass freeway which will loop around the City and connect to Charlotte’s outer belt and Interstate 77. This freeway is in the planning stages with construction anticipated in approximately 15 years.
There are approximately 366 linear miles of paved streets in the City. The City and State maintain approximately 298 miles and 68 miles, respectively. Major expansion, improvement and maintenance of primary and secondary highway thoroughfares are the responsibilities of the State, but the City has participated in the construction and improvement of many State-maintained roads over the past ten years.
In 1990, Gastonia voters authorized $35 million of Street Improvement Bonds for the purpose of financing street capital improvement projects involving major and secondary streets in all areas of the City. The street capital improvement projects included the purchase of rights-of-way, the construction of sidewalks and intersection improvements, the widening and realigning of existing roadways and the construction of new roadways.
The City programmed the street capital improvement projects in four phases. The first phase was financed with the proceeds of $4,850,000 Street Improvement Bonds, Series 1991. The second phase was financed with the proceeds of $8,500,000 Street Improvement Bonds, Series 1993. The third phase was financed with the proceeds of $9,650,000 Street Improvement Bonds, Series 1995. The fourth and final phase, presently under construction, was financed with the proceeds of $12,000,000 Street Improvement Bonds, Series 1997.
Gastonia is within a 15-minute drive of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. The airport provides 500 scheduled flights per day by eight airlines to virtually any North American location and parts of Europe. USAirways maintains an operational hub at the airport. The airport is as accessible to Gastonia as it is to the downtown Charlotte area, providing the City with a tremendous intra-regional advantage.
Additionally, the City of Gastonia operates the Gastonia Municipal Airport, a general aviation facility, which serves the City and the County for both business and pleasure flights. The facility is operated by Cotton Air, the Fixed Base Operator.
The Norfolk Southern Railway, the Seaboard Coastline Railway and the Carolina and Northwestern Railway provide transportation to interchange points with other railroads throughout the eastern United States. Freight service is available through the three railroads and 58 truck lines. Passenger rail service is available through Amtrak.
by City of Gastonia North Carolina
Gastonia aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Gastonia aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Gastonia.
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