NCDOT: Open-House Meeting on U.S. 401

The N.C. Department of Transportation is proposing to reconstruct a busy stretch of Fayetteville Road (U.S. 401) near the Walmart in Garner into a superstreet design that is intended to reduce traffic delays and the risk of crashes, and is looking for public input on the proposal.
 
The department proposed the project to improve the safety of the road, which had 366 crashes involving more than 200 injuries in a recent five-year analysis.  The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which includes representatives of Wake County and its municipalities, also supports the project. The proposal received favorable scores and was funded through the department’s Strategic Mobility Formula, which prioritizes projects based on safety, congestion, benefit-cost and local priorities.
 
Under the proposal, Fayetteville Road would get a raised median and an additional lane in each direction between its intersection with Farm/Old Stage roads south of Walmart to just south of the highway’s intersection with Garner Station/Mechanical boulevards.
 
NCDOT will hold an informal open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church at 4926 Fayetteville Road, where transportation officials will show the preliminary design maps, answer questions and collect comments. People may attend anytime, as no formal presentation will be given.
 
A superstreet, which the department is using more commonly around the state to improve safety, redirects traffic from the side streets and business driveways into turning right; a motorist desiring to cross the road or go in the opposite direction will take a U-turn at designated areas.
 
The design is safer because it reduces the opportunities for vehicles crossing several lanes of traffic to collide with other vehicles. The design also will reduce delays on Fayetteville Road during peak travel time and accommodate expected growth in traffic. On the average day, the road carries about 48,000 vehicles – a figured expected to jump to 67,000 vehicles a day by 2040.
 
“This design will be safer for the people using this road every day, and it will keep the traffic moving,” said Ben Upshaw, a project engineer for the department’s Highway Division 5.
 
The public can get more information about the project at this NCDOT website.
 
Public comments will be accepted through Aug. 31. They may be sent to either NCDOT Project Manager John Braxton at 919-707-6219 or jwbraxton@ncdot.gov; or Consultant Project Manager Cyndy Yu Robinson at 919-239-7142 or cyndy.yu.robinson@aecom.com.
 
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Lauren Putnam at lnputnam1@ncdot.gov or 919-707-6072.
 
People who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.