Site work and paving for a road / highway in Apex, North Carolina. Completed plans call for site work for a road / highway; and for paving for a road / highway.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/09/16/complete-540-opening-raleigh-apex-highway.html Complete 540 is days away from major milestone for highway project After years of red tape, construction and anticipation from business owners and communities across the region, Complete 540 is days away from opening. J.J. Eden, executive director of the N.C. Turnpike Authority, has seen ribbons cut on a lot of projects over his 50-year career. But Complete 540 is different. "This one in particular is creating such a lifeline," he said. "Every place I go, it's like, when are you going to open?" The first phase of the project is scheduled to open to traffic Sept. 25. The new section of highway runs from the N.C. 55 Bypass in Apex to Interstate 40 in Garner. It's a monumental project from an organizational perspective. And when it comes to opening on schedule, timing is everything. "We have three different contracts, three different projects, three different design-build teams and the entire 18 miles has to open at the same time," said Alan Shapiro, deputy chief engineer for the Turnpike Authority. "The one that finishes last is the one that's going to dictate when we open." Eden said the team has weekly meetings to make sure everything's on track. "Things go wrong like any project, especially multibillion-dollar projects," he said, adding that his team has been able to react quickly every time, particularly with Hurricane Debby in early August, which Shapiro described as throwing a "monkey wrench into the plans." The goal of opening phase one before Labor Day was missed because the storm caused erosion deficiencies that brought about both aesthetic and safety concerns. By pushing the date, not only were crews able to clean up the mud Debby left behind, but they were also able to advance the project even further. Shapiro said they were lucky in that the storm hit when the project was nearing completion. "What people don't realize is, if it rains for five days, you don't just push things back for five days," he said. Work halts while crews evaluate the impact of the rain and schedule repairs. He estimates a day of rain could mean up to a five-day delay on a project -- "and that's just with a regular storm event." Between now and the highway's opening, crews will need to sweep the road, mow the grass and ensure equipment is removed from worksites. Temporary striping will go down on one section. And signage needs to be erected in the corridor. "As of today, we feel pretty confident even with the heavy rain, it's not going to have an impact," Shapiro said Friday ahead of another tropical system hitting the Carolinas this week. Once phase one opens, there will still be some miscellaneous work, particularly on cross streets, Shapiro said. But much of the focus shifts to phase two 2, which runs from I-40 to I-87 in Knightdale, completing the 540 loop around Raleigh. "We're looking to close the loop in 2028," Shapiro said. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/08/29/complete-540-phase-one-opening-ncdot-raleigh.html A new target date to open several miles of the Complete 540 project to traffic in southern Wake County is on the calendar after a late August opening was washed out by Tropical Storm Debby. After years of litigation followed by years of construction, Complete 540 Phase 1 could open to the public on Sept. 25, the day after a tentatively scheduled ribbon cutting ceremony, according to officials with the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. The storm wiped away plans to open the 18-mile section, which runs from the N.C. 55 Bypass in Apex to Interstate 40 in Garner, ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But weather delays are nothing new for the huge project. Crews had hoped to complete the first phase earlier this summer. The second phase, which stretches nearly 11 miles to I-540 in Knightdale, broke ground this year and could open in 2028, completing the 540 loop around Raleigh. The $2.5 billion project officially started construction in 2019, though it's been in the works for decades. Engineers designed the project based on traffic estimates for 2040, envisioning a project that would need to support 70,000 vehicles per day. NCDOT officials have said the goal is to ease congestion and make the broader Triangle more accessible. Tolls for Complete 540 will primarily go toward paying back the bonds for the debt to fund the project. Excess toll revenue will be used "within the corridor where the Turnpike Project is located." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/05/17/as-complete-540-inches-closer-turnpike-late-fees.html As Complete 540 moves forward, a bill that would increase toll road late fees by 50 percent is advancing on Jones Street. David Roy, director of project financing with the N.C. Turnpike Authority, explains that it comes down to escalating cost. Specifically, the bill, which soon heads to the House of Representatives, deals with a processing fee that has been set at $6 since the Triangle Expressway opened in 2011. "We've seen significant increases in some of our operations costs, particularly behind labor and mailing," Roy said. He noted there are no immediately plans to raise the fee, but that the agency just wants the ability to do so in the future. "The request is simply to help give us the flexibility to address some of those increases in cost," he sid. Toll road late fees are capped at $48 annually. The bill would increase the cap to $72. According to a fiscal impact summary, increasing the fees could increase annual revenue by $37.7 million over five years. Roy said the best way to avoid the extra processing fees is to pay on time, as they're only assessed for late bills. And an easy way to pay on time, he says, is by getting an N.C. Quick Pass Account. Processing fees make up less than 10 percent of NCTA's total operating revenue. The discussions are happening as Complete 540, the completion of a tolled loop that could better connect the eastern Triangle to the Research Triangle Park, inches closer to a reality. Complete 540 will extend the Triangle Expressway from the N.C. 55 Bypass in Apex to Interstate 87/U.S. 64/ in Knightdale, completing the outer 540 loop around the greater Raleigh area. This week, Phase 2 of the project broke ground. And officials say Phase 1 is on track to open this summer. Roy said the fee hikes weren't inspired by any particular highway project. The average cost per mile for transponder customers on two-axle vehicles traveling on the Triangle Expressway is 20 cents. It's unclear what the fees for Complete 540 will be, but they're expected to be in that vein, a bargain compared to some tolling facilities in the Northeast. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/05/09/townhome-rentals-under-construction-south-raleigh.html Linden said the company’s decision to partner with Mungo Homes was mostly due to the location with its proximity to Downtown Raleigh, the future Downtown South and the Complete 540 expansion. The same area also has a mixed-use project with 613 multifamily units and 22,500 square feet of retail space planned. _________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/03/18/raleigh-property-rezoning-hotel-development.html New Bern Avenue is the first corridor for the BRT in Wake County. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in November. The city is working on the bidding process for construction, with plans to award a contractor by this summer. The City Council also recently passed a number of rezonings for properties along New Bern Avenue in preparation for the BRT. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2024/03/04/north-carolina-interstate42-timeline-construction.html Businesses want that red, white and blue shield," he said. "Interstates attract economic development because of the quality of travel and the assurance of free-flow, reliable travel times outside of the most congested periods." And the new interstate corridor will have even more significance when the newest 18 miles of the Complete 540 project come online, he said. ______________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/03/05/complete-540-highway-raleigh-traffic-congestion.html If all goes as expected, Complete 540 could open within four years. The highway project connecting the areas south and east of Raleigh is designed to accommodate 70,000 vehicles per day. But the timeline is putting pressure on communities to ensure secondary roads can handle the increased traffic. Johnston County, for example, has submitted multiple road projects to be considered for funding from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, but nothing is certain when it comes to those allocations. “We’re already seeing some volumes on roads that are going to be exasperated by 540,” said Braston Newton, Johnston County planning director. An NCDOT spokesperson said the deadline for its next prioritization budget was October and that after public comment periods, a draft will be published in 2025 unveiling which projects made the final cut. But Johnston County is not sitting still. The county recently teamed up with consultant McAdams to revamp its Comprehensive Transportation Plan, which had not been updated in about a decade. McAdams, which won a contract worth more than $200,000 to assist with the effort, is helping the county identify potential trouble spots as part of that plan. The first stakeholder meeting isn’t planned until March and a public hearing has yet to be held. But as the Complete 540 plan inches closer to becoming a reality, officials say there’s no time to lose. The Comprehensive Transportation Plan looks at the entire county, but special attention is being paid to corridors expected to be impacted by the project and the widening of Interstate 40. Newton said a lot of attention is being paid to understand what impact the Complete 540 will have on how people move in Johnston County and how officials can perhaps ease the burden on adjacent roads and corridors. “There’s a huge impact in regards to growth,” he said of Complete 540. “There’s going to be opportunities for growth along the 540 corridor … but we have to understand what those impacts are and what that looks like and how we’re going to manage that growth.” Patrick Pierce, economic development director for the Town of Clayton, said the benefits of the project will outweigh any adverse impacts to secondary roadways. He's among the many who call the project a "game-changer" for communities in the Greater Triangle, making commutes much faster to Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Research Triangle Park. “It’s just going to continue to add additional options and connectivity to the Triangle and open up additional economic development opportunities,” Pierce said. Johnston County isn’t alone, as there are planning efforts being conducted by communities throughout the 540 corridor, including Holly Springs, which is nearing the final phases of its largest ever road widening project. Proponents of Complete 540 have said the benefits will be widespread, and that includes a boost for more affordable housing, as increased accessibility could make living further from Raleigh more feasible for workers. Complete 540 will extend the Triangle Expressway from the Apex/Holly Springs area to where the northern loop of I-540 ends in Knightdale. The project was recently awarded a loan worth up to $417 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Complete 540’s second phase, an 11-mile, $1.3 billion effort, will break ground soon. It will connect to Phase 1, a 17.1 mile project currently under construction. Tolls for the thoroughfare have yet to be determined, but they are expected to be comparable to what's charged on the existing Triangle Expressway, according to NCDOT officials. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.enr.com/articles/58214-flatiron-advances-new-segment-of-25b-north-carolina-expressway A joint venture of Flatiron Construction Corp. and Fred Smith Co., along with lead designer ICE of Carolinas, is advancing a $449.9-million section of North Carolina’s $2.5-billion Complete 540 project through design and preconstruction. The contract comes as the project is approaching the milestones of Phase 1 completion and the start of Phase 2 construction this year. The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation (NCDOT) and N.C. Turnpike Authority’s Complete 540 project is extending the Triangle Expressway, also known as State Route 540, to make it a complete loop around the Raleigh area. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/02/28/north-carolina-interstate42-timeline-construction.html "Businesses want that red, white and blue shield," he said. "Interstates attract economic development because of the quality of travel and the assurance of free-flow, reliable travel times outside of the most congested periods." And the new interstate corridor will have even more significance when the newest 18 miles of the Complete 540 project come online, he said. NCDOT, says shields could start going up soon, albeit for a small sliver of what’s planned for the coming years. It's been a complicated process getting this far, eliminating traffic lights and intersections, widening pavement and smoothing roadways to allow for 70 mph traffic. “We intend to make all of U.S. 70 from Raleigh to Morehead City I-42,” NCDOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale said. “We know it will take many, many years to do that and we can only do it one project at a time.” The first 10 miles, which starts after the I-40 Exit 309 ramp, are ready to go, but can’t officially be called I-42 until the signage is installed, expected to happen before the end of this year. Signs have been ordered and manufactured, Barksdale said. But it was slightly complicated by the existing N.C. 42 and the confusion it could cause. “We knew several years ago you can’t have an Interstate 42 literally crisscrossing a Highway 42,” Barksdale said. It’s why NCDOT had initially recommended a different interstate number, a request rejected by federal regulators in the early days of planning the highway. But with a recent vote by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners to change the name from N.C. 42 to Veterans Parkway (and designate it as N.C. 36), all NCDOT needs to do is paste over the existing signs with the new moniker. Updating the signage will cost about $500,000 and will likely happen around the same time as the interstate shield additions on the new I-42. “We think by this summertime we’ll have a good timeline of when we’ll be able to install that,” Barksdale said. Gov. Pat McCrory unveiled a “future interstate” sign on U.S. 70 back in 2016, saying at the time it was about “connecting North Carolina and supporting our military, agriculture and overall economy.” Barksdale said there are three active construction projects along the highway right now. In the future, the interstate will run to Havelock Bypass in Craven County without a single stoplight. In the meantime, Johnston County has other active projects intended to ease congestion, including the I-40 widening project and preparations for Complete 540. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/02/22/raleigh-six-forks-road-widening-businesses.html The Six Forks project is one of multiple improvement plans long discussed for North Raleigh. An improvement project for Capital Boulevard also ran into funding roadblocks. NCDOT is even considering the addition of a toll road to pay for some of those improvements. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/02/21/holly-springs-road-improvements-transportation.html A $34 million project is designed to improve commutes in Holly Springs, particularly as plans for Complete 540 continue to move forward. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/02/20/raleigh-road-construction-roundabouts-traffic.html According to advocacy group Smart Growth America, more than 1,700 Complete Streets policies have been passed in the United States, including those adopted by 35 state governments. Daniel Findley, associate director of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education, says the complete streets concept is a planning process also used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WBS ELEMENT NO. 37673.3.GV3 FEDERAL-AID NO. NHP-0540(041) COUNTY: Wake ROUTE NO. NC 540 (Triangle Expressway) MILES: 4.356 LOCATION: Triangle Expressway Southeast Extension from NC 55 Bypass to east of Pierce Olive Road (SR 1389) Date and Time of Technical Proposal Submission: March 27, 2019 by 4:00 Pm Date and Time of Price Proposal Submission: April 10, 2019 by 4:00 Pm Date and Time of Price Proposal Opening: April 16, 2019 at 2:00 Pm The North Carolina Turnpike Authority, a unit of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), is requesting interested Design-Build Teams submit qualifications for a Design-Build Project. The project, R-2721A, extends the Triangle Expressway on new alignment in Wake County from the NC 55 Bypass to east of Pierce Olive Road (SR 1389). Interested parties should send a request, by e-mail only, to rfq_package_request@ncdot.gov for a formal package detailing the requirements for submitting a Statement of Qualifications. The following contact information must be included in the e-mail request: company name, physical address, city, state, zip code, contact person, phone number and current e-mail address. Project information is continually being added, so it is advisable to monitor the website for the most up-to-date information. Technical questions related to the RFQ package, or other project related questions, should be sent via e-mail to designbuild@ncdot.gov. For tracking purposes, questions will only be answered through e-mail requests. When making requests by e-mail, it is advisable to request a return receipt for your records. NCDOT - Triangle Expressway on New Alignment in Wake County MBE : 22.8% WBE : 6.9%