Update: The long-touted conversion of Capital Boulevard to a limited-access six- or eight-lane freeway may be farther away or even just a pipe dream because the money to do the extensive and expensive bridges and interchanges, paving and parallel local roads is just not available.
When North Carolina Transportation Secretary Gene Conti spoke last week at the annual Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce meeting he had no news about the plan although he did talk about tolls on parts of I-540 and I-95.
The plan was for the freeway to be built between I-540 on the south and the Franklin County line on the north, and the Wake Forest Planning Department has been making allowance for the freeway in land-use plans. Planning Director Chip Russell, working with Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), has been trying to have two of the interchanges – one where South Main Street (U.S. 1-A) meets New Falls of Neuse and one at the Durant Road-Perry Creek Road intersection – placed on the Department of Transportation seven-year plan.
Of course, the South Main-New Falls of Neuse intersection was the first local example of DOT building for the lowest cost instead of factoring in future needs and accidents. DOT was strongly urged to provide a bridge and interchange there when Capital was four-laned.
The second local example was building a new hill on South Main instead of a bridge to allow traffic on the N.C. 98 Bypass to flow without a traffic signal above uninterrupted traffic on South Main.
* * * *
The South Main Street (U.S. 1-A) project is moving along. Deputy Town Manager Roe O’Donnell said recently that easement acquisition – construction and right-of-way easements – is almost complete. “This is a bond project and is already funded. Bidding will take place at bond sale time.” The town board went into closed session on June 16 to consider acquiring some of the needed easements.
The current plan for South Main Street is for three lanes from Forbes Road north to Forestville Road – two travel lanes and a center turn lane. The last estimated cost was $1.1 million.
The $16.5 million in bonds for street and park projects were approved by Wake Forest voters in May of 2005.
Of that total, $9.5 million was approved for streets: $3.3 million to build part of the North Loop including a bridge over the CSX rail line and North White Street, $1 million to widen South Main to five lanes from Rogers Road to Forbes Road, $2.2 million to widen Stadium Drive to three lanes from Rock Spring Road to Capital Boulevard, $2.4 million for roundabouts and a median on Franklin Street, and $600,000 to build the North White Street sidewalk from East Juniper Avenue to Flaherty Park.
The town has current and past contracts with Narron Construction for the South Franklin Street project totaling just over $3.9 million, and that does not include the cost of the street lights and Wake Forest Power time to install them. It also does not include the engineering and design as well as the construction oversight.
The North Loop project is still a concept, but the town is engaged in talks with the rail office in the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The loose agreement appears to be that the town will pay the cost for an at-grade crossing at the CSX rail line but will build a bridge or an underpass with DOT and the Southeast High Speed Rail project funding the difference.
Plans to widen Stadium Road have apparently been delayed to another bond issue, and town crews are building the North White Street sidewalk.
* * * *
The town commissioners approved the design for the East Juniper Avenue sidewalk project in December. Two significant oak trees on the south side of the street will be preserved, and the design calls for a well-marked crossing when the sidewalk moves from the south side to the north side of the street.
There will also be a roundabout to calm traffic at the Juniper/North Allen Road intersection. The total cost is estimated at $1.250 million.
* * * *
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has set up a website to inform area people about the progress on the final leg of the N.C. 98 bypass. Go to http://www.ncdot.org/projects/wakeforestbypass/. There is a map of the project as it will look when completed; when you click on the link, it does take a long time to load.
Barnhill Contracting Company won the bidding for the contract with a low bid of $11.5 million for the 1.55-mile leg which is expected to be complete early in 2010. Barnhill also built the first section from Jones Dairy Road to South Main Street (U.S. 1-A).
Resident Engineer Boyd Tharrington at the Youngsville DOT office will oversee the project, 562-7000.
* * * *
Kimley-Horn Associates, the engineering firm the town contracted with for a study of Star Road, has completed its work. (The study cost will be billed back to future developers.)
“It basically said that without signals any future development is limited. The Town, DOT, CAMPO, etc., are opposed to any traditional signals on Capital Blvd.,” Director of Engineering Eric Keravuori wrote in an e-mail response to a question from the Gazette. “Daryl Cady has hired Krista Green to develop some creative solutions to help with the problem. Stay tuned.”
Star Road is a dead-end road parallel to Capital Boulevard. On the north, a concrete median in South Main Street prevents left turns in and out of the road; on the south, it ends just short of the Capital Boulevard bridge over the CSX rail line.
Businesses along the road include Chris Leith’s Dodge-Chevrolet dealership, Luck Stone, a used car dealership and A-1 Personal Storage. Dan Caster, who owns the storage business, has purchased the former Starlite Motel and Pawn Shop. He is offering to build to suit.
Cady, who has town approval for the first phase of his La Scala project – a hotel, office building and ballroom/convention center just north of Living Word Family Church – wants a full intersection with signals at the present unsignalized cross-over from Capital that accesses Star Road.
Cady plans four phases for La Scala that include 239,200 square feet of office space, 375,250 square feet of retail space and another hotel on 85.5 acres.
Planners would like another connection to South Main Street from the southern end of Star Road, and the town’s transportation plan calls for a link between Star Road and Ligon Mill Road.
Another consideration about traffic in the area is the quarry on the west side of Capital Boulevard. Benchmark Carolina Aggregates plan to double in size in the near future. There are already 350 trucks entering and leaving each day.
* * * *
Chalk Road will be re-aligned to meet Jones Dairy Road at Green Mountain Drive, the entrance to the Bowling Green subdivision. In October 2007 the Wake Forest commissioners approved a contract with Wetherill Engineering of Raleigh for $141,212.15 for the preliminary design and surveying. Construction will be scheduled at the same time the state Department of Transportation replaces the bridges on Jones Dairy over Smith Creek and Austin Creek, which will begin in late 2009 or early 2010.
* * * *
Think there are traffic signals that should be improved? Call Steve Johnson, the Division 5 traffic engineer, at 220-4600, the new number for the Division 5 Durham office.
* * * *
Along with Heritage Lake Road, another road serving the Heritage area and Gateway Commons Shopping Center at the corner of the N.C. 98 bypass and Jones Dairy Road is Friendship Chapel Road, which intersects with Heritage Lake Road south of the bypass. It has been completed nearly to but not connected to Jones Dairy Road. “The connection to Jones Dairy will be made when the commercial projects on Jones Dairy do their improvements. They wanted us to stop ten feet short,” Ammons said. The connection may also wait until DOT rebuilds the two bridges on Jones Dairy Road.
Until there is development on the Dameron tract, a part of the former Holding dairy farm, Friendship Chapel Road will be in two sections. One on the west connects to South Main Street and now dead-ends into the old dairy farm. The planned traditional neighborhood development Holding Village will extend the street east to the western edge of the Dameron tract. On the east, the road runs through Heritage North to Jones Dairy.
* * * *
In 2007 CAMPO Senior Transportation Planner Kenneth Withrow said it will take 20 to 30 years and $487 million to make Capital Boulevard into an eight-lane limited access thoroughfare. The cost estimate is in 2006 dollars so we can be assured the amount will continue to rise.
The preferred alternative has three regular travel lanes and an HOV lane on each side, a raised median and access roads in front and in back of homes and businesses along the highway. There would be 10 interchanges where traffic could get on or off intersecting roads and nine grade-separated crossings. One of those fly-overs is planned at Stadium Road.
Wake Forest Planning Director Chip Russell has said CAMPO will try to place two of the interchanges on the state’s Transportation Improvement Plan – those at South Main-New Falls of Neuse and Durant-Perry Creek.
You can see the study area at http://www.ncdot.org/~us1study.