The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) plans to turn the U.S. 1 Capital Boulevard into a freeway from I-540 in Raleigh north through Wake Forest and will present its plans at public meetings this week.
The limited-access highway would be free of traffic lights and driveways, and would speed travel in northern Wake County, particularly for commuters from Wake Forest and Franklin County. At the same time, numerous businesses and even some neighborhoods and apartment complexes would lose direct access to U.S. 1, in some cases requiring new access roads to prevent being cut off completely.
Planning for the freeway began in 2006, with a U.S. 1 corridor study completed by NCDOT, local governments and transit agencies, and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. NCDOT hopes to refine its plans by next summer and award a contract for final design and construction, which would begin in the spring of 2021. NCDOT says the goal of the $465 million freeway project is to reduce congestion and travel times. The highway would be six lanes wide, with 12-ft shoulders and a concrete median, and a speed limit of 65 mph.
The freeway plan calls for creating four new interchanges along Capital at Durant/Perry Creek roads, Burlington Mills Road, Falls of Neuse Road/Main Street and Purnell/Harris roads. Other streets that now intersect with U.S. 1, including Thornton Road, Sharon Farms Avenue, Jacqueline Lane and Caveness Farms Avenue, would lose that direct connection.
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Source: News & Observer
