Wake Forest people could almost make a career of attending public hearings for projects planned in the next few days by different state, area and local governments. They include a study of the N.C. 98 corridor from Durham to U.S. 401, the first steps in Wake County’s new transit plan, information and feedback about an extension of the Dunn Creek Greenway, and grade separations – roads or railroads – for railroad crossings on Rogers and Ligon Mill roads. In calendar order – first ones first – here they are.
N.C. 98 Corridor Study
Bet you did not know the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization will host meetings in Wake Forest and Durham next week.
The Wake Forest meeting will be held Tuesday, March 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the ground floor meeting room in Wake Forest Town Hall. It will be an informal, open-house event with people free to learn about the project, ask questions and provide comments and opinions. The meeting room is best accessed from the South Taylor Street entrance across from the Wake Forest Police Department.
The meeting Thursday, March 23, will be at the Reaching All Minds Academy, 2703 Holloway Street, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The 27-mile N.C. 98 Corridor extends from U.S. 70 in Durham County through Wake County to U.S. 401 in Franklin County. The corridor study will evaluate safety and congestion, planned and existing roads, bicycle/pedestrian facilities and transit uses of N.C. 98.
People who are not able to attend are encouraged to visit the NC 98 Corridor Study website to learn about the initiative and provide feedback via the Contact Us page. In addition, an interactive mapping tool will allow citizens to view the project area and submit comments on the map.
Wake Transit Plan Draft Work Plan
The Transit Planning Advisory Committee (TPAC) will host a public meeting about the fiscal 2018 draft work plan, an early step in implementing the transit plan and tax Wake voters approved last fall.
The meeting will be in the Wake County Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue on Wednesday, March 22, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The FY 18 Draft Work Plan outlines the first proposed improvements to Wake County’s transit system that can occur in 2017 without the need for new buses. All Wake County residents are encouraged to attend one of the meetings and share their input on the Draft Work Plan. Comments will be accepted through Monday, April 3.
To comment on the FY 18 Draft Annual Work Plan, visit, www.waketransit.com/fy18-work-plan/ , or contact Public Outreach Specialist David Powe at dpowe@gotriangle.org or 919-485-7522. Printed copies of the Work Plan will be made available at all Wake County public libraries.
The Wake Transit Plan improvements are scheduled to be implemented throughout a 10-year period and will include tripling existing bus service, four Bus Rapid Transit Corridors, and a Commuter Rail connection between Garner, Raleigh, Cary, RTP and Durham.
To learn more about the Wake Transit Plan and view the complete schedule of public meetings planned throughout Wake County, visit http://www.waketransit.com/fy18-work-plan/.
Dunn Creek Greenway, Phase 3
The Town of Wake Forest will host a citizen information workshop on the Dunn Creek Greenway, phase 3, on Wednesday, March 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Alston-Massenburg Center on North Taylor Street.
The workshop will have an open house format so area residents can drop by to ask questions and provide feedback about the proposed greenway trail alignment and future improvements to Ailey Young park.
This third phase proposes to extend the Dunn Creek Greenway north by about 1.73 miles from its existing end at the N.C. 98 Bypass. In addition to providing useful connections to the Traditions subdivision, the new trail will also offer easy access to Ailey Young Park on East Juniper Avenue. Town planners are writing a grant application to the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund for some of the funding.
For more information, contact Transportation Planning Manager Daryl Vreeland at 919-435-9512.
Grade separations on Rogers and Ligon Mill roads
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold an informal public meeting on Thursday, March 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. about separating Rogers Road and Ligon Mill Road from the CSX S-Line that runs through Wake Forest. The meeting will be held in the ground floor meeting room in Wake Forest Town Hall which is best accessed from South Taylor Street across from the Wake Forest Police Department.
On Rogers Road, the plan is to construct a bridge over the rail line in the same location as the existing at-grade crossing with an on-site detour during construction in fiscal year 2020. The cost is estimated at $1,890,000 for right-of-way and $9 million for construction.
The Gazette emailed James Bridges, the DOT project manager, asking what the S-Line means (It is just an identifier.); if the easement or set-aside Andy Ammons, the Heritage developer, said had been established for a bridge on Rogers Road was still valid; and if the designs for the two Wake Forest bridges were done with the Southeast High-Speed Rail project.
“Yes, the designs for the grade separations were developed under the Southeast High-Speed Rail (SEHSR) project,” Bridges replied. “With the SEHSR project nearing final environmental approval, the expectation is that there will eventually be more trains, at faster speeds along this line.
“At any highway/railroad intersection there is always the potential for accidents. While there may not be an accident problem at this crossing, we have to plan our transportation network for conditions as we reasonably expect in the future.”
There is no construction date for the Ligon Mill Road project because there is no current funding.
The plan proposes to shift Ligon Mill Road to the south by about 130 feet which will mean its right-of-way encroaches on the property where the Heartsfield house stands, a local historic landmark owned by David and Pinky Cooke. Pinky Cooke said they have known about the plan for years. “This has never gone away. It’s like an evil ghost hovering above the trees that won’t disappear.”
When the Ligon Mill Road bridge is built, DOT will build a new entrance to the Smith Creek subdivision. The current plan is to allow the existing at-grade crossing to remain open during construction of the new bridge.
That same plan also includes grade separations at five crossings in Raleigh with only two having current funding, Durant Road and New Hope Church Road. The other roads are Gresham Lake Road, Millbrook Road and Wolfpack Lane. The public meeting about those roads will be held Monday, March 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Abbotts Creek Community Center, 9950 Durant Road.
Project maps can be found at http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings/. You can contact James Bridges, Rail Project Development Manager at 1553 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, 919-707-4716, and jfbridges@ncdot.gov.
