A new bridge to carry passenger trains across Capital Boulevard is part of the  alignment recommended this week by North Carolina and Virginia transportation officials for a proposed 162-mile track that would run trains as fast as 110 miles per hour between Raleigh and Richmond, Va.

The favored path for the proposed new track between the state capitals is described in a new 114-page draft recommendation report issued for the planned Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor from Charlotte to Washington, D.C.  The report explains the two states' recommendations for the entire path, which passes through Norlina, Henderson, Franklinton, Youngsville and Wake Forest on its way south from Virginia to join an existing Amtrak route in downtown Raleigh.

But no one knows whether the project will ever be built. [5pm update: Pay no attention to the misplaced star on DOT's map, above. There are no plans to bring trains onto the Governor Morehead School campus.] ... [MORE]

A proposed bridge over Capital Boulevard would cost more than other options for routing passenger trains through downtown Raleigh, but state engineers say it would cause fewer problems for businesses, neighborhoods, streams and historic sites.

Raleigh residents will have a chance to learn about the new approach, and to compare it with options aired a year ago, at a public meeting 4-7 p.m. today at the Raleigh Convention Center. [9/28/11 update: see today's story from last night's meeting.]

It's part of the state Department of Transportation’s work on a proposed 162-mile track for trains that would run as fast as 110 mph between Raleigh and Richmond, Va. The new line would be 35 miles shorter than the route now used by Amtrak, and DOT says it would cut two hours of travel time for journeys from Raleigh to Washington and the Northeast.

The new downtown path devised by DOT engineers, called NC5, would be the most expensive option for a 3.4-mile segment of the rail route from a planned station near Hargett Street north to Whitaker Mill Road: a total estimated cost of $158.4 million. ... [MORE]

NCDOT has scheduled a public meeting 4-7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Raleigh Convention Center to hear citizen views on a new idea for routing high-speed passenger trains through downtown Raleigh: a 700-foot bridge to carry northbound trains diagonally over automobile traffic on Capital, just south of the Wade Avenue interchange.

Maps have been posted on the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor site to show the new option, called NC5, along with new modifications to three alternatives that were aired last year.   All options are still on the table. [Update: see 9/10/11 story "Rail plan looks to pass over boulevard."]

NCDOT ran into heavy opposition when Norfolk Southern Railway and residents of neighborhoods near Five Points objected to its originally favored NC3 proposal, which would have run the new trains north along the west side of Capital, disrupting Norfolk Southern's freight yard.

Lawyer Ben Kuhn and other downtown residents suggested taking the trains across Capital near where it crosses Peace Street.  The new NCDOT approach adapts that idea but moves it farther north, bridging the busy boulevard at a lower elevation just south of the Wade Avenue interchange. ... [MORE]

View Glenwood Ave repair job in a larger map

DOT road crews reopened the side streets at Five Points today, two months after closing them as part of a $2.7 million Glenwood Avenue repair project that is nearing completion.

Drivers on Glenwood now can turn onto  Whitaker Mill Road and Glenn Avenue at Five Points. Access to Fairview Road will be restored after a block party planned for Saturday, said Jeff Allen, a DOT engineer overseeing the Glenwood project.

DOT is finishing a Glenwood repaving project that was expanded this summer to include the removal of deteriorating concrete slabs between Five Points and Wade Avenue. Traffic has been reduced to two lanes on that part of Glenwood, but Allen said he hopes to restore four-lane traffic by the end of next week.

View Glenwood Ave repair job in a larger map

DOT says it will reopen Glenn Avenue, Fairview Road and the Fairview business district at Five Points Friday.

A project to rebuild Glenwood from Five Points to Wade Avenue is expected to be finished around the end of September.  Jeff Allen, the DOT engineer overseeing the work, said he hoped to restore all four lanes of traffic by the end of next week.

View SEHSR alternatives in a larger map

The Raleigh City Council backed away today from taking a stand on any of the state’s proposed downtown routes for a new fast-train line from Raleigh to Richmond, Va., and it asked state officials to add other possible routes to their study.

The council asked the state Department of Transportation to analyze three alternative train paths – two suggested by residents last week and a third broached Tuesday by council member Thomas Crowder.

Each of the three new ideas involves a long railroad bridge that would carry high-speed passenger trains high over Capital Boulevard. Crowder suggested running the elevated trains north and south, parallel to the busy thoroughfare, as part of an expansive downtown development project.

The alternatives sketched last week by groups of residents would move the trains from the west side of Capital to the east side, on a long curving bridge either just north or just south of Peace Street.

Council member Russell Stephenson said the new options looked better than DOT’s proposals either to run the trains north along the west side of Capital, through a Norfolk Southern rail yard, or through a CSX yard on the east side. ... [MORE]

View SEHSR alternatives in a larger map

As alternatives to two official options for a fast train path through downtown Raleigh, loosely organized groups of Raleigh citizens are pushing two unofficial variations – different from each other but not, their backers say, in opposition to each other – for consideration by the Raleigh City Council and the state Department of Transportation.

Some council members are expected Tuesday either to urge the city’s formal endorsement for one of the new options, or to push for delay and more study by DOT.

Each of the new citizen proposals involves a long railroad bridge curving across Capital Boulevard.  One would be north of the Capital bridge over Peace Street.  The other  would be just south of Peace Street, and north of the CSX railroad bridge over Capital. ... [MORE]

Raleigh's City Council is hosting a special public hearing tonight to discuss one of two options for the high-speed rail route that will connect Raleigh to Richmond, Va.

It could be a contentious meeting - some Five Points residents and officials with the Norfolk Southern station are adamantly opposed to the route Raleigh's Passenger Rail Task Force has recommended.

It almost certainly will be a well-attended hearing. So come early.

It starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers.

A state Department of Transportation rail engineer has given a negative review to a proposed five-block flyover that would lift fast trains above Capital Boulevard in order to steer clear of the Five Points neighborhood.

"The proposed crossing of Capital Blvd. with this alignment appears infeasible," wrote Jason Orthner, DOT's rail construction design manager. His 8/30/2010 memo is attached below.

Perhaps it was too good to be true: a bold engineering solution that would save money, avoid dislocating homes and businesses, and keep streets open -- all while carrying a new kind of train service north from downtown Raleigh. ... [MORE]

View SEHSR alternatives in a larger map

Nancy Mullin fears the worst.  Her fears about a plan for high-speed trains are spreading fast through her handsome, leafy neighborhood near Raleigh’s Five Points.

The Five Points Citizens Advisory Council voted 81-0 Thursday night to condemn a proposal that would route new passenger trains through the Norfolk Southern freight yard between Capital Boulevard and the Five Points area.

The unanimous vote was an ornery endorsement of warnings from Mullin and others that train noise and vibration would rattle homes, erode  property values and drown out sidewalk conversations.

You can expect to hear these alarms amplified Tuesday night, when the Raleigh City Council holds a public hearing on three alternatives for the downtown path of a proposed 162-mile fast track from Raleigh to Richmond. ... [MORE]