View Kelly Road in a larger map
A new bridge and interchange that lifts Kelly Road over U.S. 64 at Apex will open for traffic Sept. 26, the state Department of Transportation said.
It was built as part of the nearby Triangle Expressway toll road project. To prepare for the new bridge opening, DOT closed an existing section of Kelly Road north from U.S. 64 to Jenks Road, on Wednesday. A detour is marked to reroute Kelly Road drivers on U.S. 64, Green Level Church Road and Jenks Road.
View 4-way stop in a larger map
A message from DOT to drivers on rural Green Level Church Road near Apex: Prepare to stop. The intersection at Jenks Road will be converted Wednesday to a four-way stop.
Drivers on Jenks stop now. DOT will install stop signs and stop-ahead signs for drivers on Green Level Church Road.
The only explanation given is that an investigation found that the 4-way conversion was warranted by "traffic volumes and other factors."
Here are the rules of the road for drivers approaching a 4-way stop: ... [MORE]
View Vandora Springs Rd & Buffaloe Rd roundabout in a larger map
The state Department of Transportation says it will close the intersection of Vandora Springs Road and Buffaloe Road in Garner for two months, starting Monday, Sept. 17, for construction of a roundabout.
Traffic will be detoured north of the intersection via Old Stage Road, Woodland Drive and Timber Drive. The new roundabout intersection is expected to reopen by Nov. 16.
Engineers at the state Department of Transportation have staggered the schedules for four Raleigh-area projects planned over the coming decade, so drivers won’t have to grapple with more than one traffic nightmare at a time. (See today's story with reader comments.)
The timetables are included in an updated statewide plan for transportation improvements through 2023, which was released Wednesday in draft form. DOT will post it formally for public comment in October. Meanwhile you also can find it here, now (a 10mb pdf), on the state Board of Transportation website.
It's an updated schedule for road and other projects DOT promises to build in the next five years and expects to build in the next 10 years. Included are several major Triangle projects that are likely to cause long traffic jams during construction, with traffic improvements after they're finished.
Click the link below for a PDF map locating 14 Triangle projects planned to start over the next 10 years. Among them are projects to widen I-40 in Orange, Wake and Johnston counties, and to widen the last four-lane section of the I-440 Beltline, and to build Durham's East End Connector.
View Faster US 1 speed limit: 70mph in a larger map
NCDOT says it will bump up the speed limit later this month on about 25 miles of U.S. 1 from Apex through Sanford -- allowing drivers to go 70mph instead of the current 65mph limit.
The new speed limit will cover U.S. 1 from its new interchange with the Triangle Expressway 540 Outer Loop in southern Apex (which opens to traffic in December) to a spot just north of Tramway in Lee County, on the south side of Sanford, through parts of Wake, Chatham and Lee counties.
NCDOT concluded the higher speed limit was justified after considering current speeds, the crash history and characteristics of the roadway alignment on this part of U.S. 1.
Republican legislative leaders are in tune with the concerns of Democrat Gene Conti, who complained this week that he is underpaid as the state’s transportation secretary.
That’s why they amended the state budget this year to give North Carolina’s next governor new power to set salaries for non-elected state department heads.
“These agencies have gotten huge in terms of budget and responsibility,” said state Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, one of the Senate’s chief budget-writers.
Conti said he took a big pay cut in 2009 when he gave up a private-sector job to take charge of DOT, with its $4 billion budget and 12,000 employees. Stevens agreed with Conti that the statutory salary limit – $121,807 this year for the heads of DOT and seven other agencies – could make it hard for the state to attract the best administrators. ... [MORE]
New governors generally hire new transportation secretaries. So Gene Conti doesn’t have much reason to expect that Gov. Bev Perdue’s successor will ask him to continue running the state Department of Transportation.
And if Conti were to receive that invitation after the November election from an incoming Gov. Pat McCrory or Gov. Walter Dalton, he doesn’t know whether he would want to stay.
The job just doesn’t pay all that well, he says.
Conti and seven other non-elected agency heads receive the same salary, as set by the legislature in this year’s state budget: $121,807. That’s about $18,000 less than the governor’s pay.
And it’s not chicken feed. But if you want to hire the best person to manage an agency with a $4 billion budget, Conti says, you ought to think about paying more. ... [MORE]
Orange Route, Red Route? Blue Route, Plum Route? Sounds like sing-song nonsense from Dr. Seuss.
NCDOT and local road planners have dusted off a few options that had been eliminated a couple of years ago, all for reconsideration in a new look at possible routes across southern Wake County for the Triangle Expressway and 540 Outer Loop (see today's story with reader comments).
Some folks in southern Wake have called to request more details, and more detailed maps, so they can decide whether they need to worry about this.
Here are some links to various maps and documents about this project, which is known as the Triangle Expressway Southeast Extension. ... [MORE]
Mike Robertson says he’ll retire effective Oct. 1 as North Carolina’s motor vehicles commissioner, after three years in the job and a total of 43 years in law enforcement.
“This has been an enjoyable three years,” Robertson, 64, said. “I’ve got mixed emotions about leaving state government, but this will be my third retirement certificate.”
Before he took charge of DMV’s 1500 employees in March 2009, Robertson had worked as head of the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement for five years, and for 22 years at the State Bureau of Investigation, where he oversaw electronic surveillance. He also had stints as a state trooper and a deputy and police officer in New Hanover County.
He plans to launch a management consulting business mostly for private companies that do business with law enforcement and motor vehicle agencies. He said he won’t solicit or accept clients before his retirement, and he won’t register as a lobbyist. ... [MORE]
View Triangle Expressway in a larger map
The first 3.4-mile leg of Triangle Expressway that opened in January (red on the map) is a little thing that doesn't matter much by itself. But the Triangle's first toll road will become relevant to a great many shoppers, delivery truck drivers, commuters and other motorists when the next two sections of TriEx open this year -- extending the 540 Outer Loop south to U.S. 64 at Apex starting Aug. 1 (blue) and farther south to N.C. 55 at Holly Springs (purple) in December -- for a total 18.8 miles.
I'll be reporting on this over the next couple of weeks as the second leg opens. Local drivers have asked questions:
* What will the tolls be?
* When can we start using E-ZPass transponders here?
* Why must drivers start paying tolls Aug. 2 on a section of 540 (green on the map) that has been toll-free since it opened in 2007?
What else do you want to know? Please email me your TriEx questions. Don't forget to include your name and your daytime phone number.
