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

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2025/03/10/raleigh-capital-boulevard-widening-freeway-tolls.html Tolls considered for Capital Boulevard as construction costs triple. NCDOT plans to widen road to six-lane freeway by 2031. CAMPO to review four toll scenarios at March 19 meeting. As construction costs rise, the topic of tolls is again on the table for a congested stretch of Capital Boulevard in Raleigh. North Carolina Secretary of Transportation Joey Hopkins said he understands public resistance to the idea of tolls, as they're a fairly new idea in North Carolina and in the Triangle exclusive only to the Triangle Expressway. "From a Department of Transportation perspective, we'd be happy if we had no toll roads," Hopkins told Triangle Business Journal. "But the reality is, there's not enough funding available to meet the needs of our state." Just seven years ago, improvements to Capital Boulevard were supposed to cost $465 million. The latest draft of the state's 10-year transportation spending plan estimates the cost of the 10-mile stretch at more than $1.3 billion. That's nearly double the 2023 estimate of $750 million. Even breaking up the project into four phases is expensive. The priority stretch -- dubbed "Section A" between Interstate540 and Durant and Perry Creek roads -- is a $516 million project. Compare that cost estimate to $82.2 million in 2016 and $291.2 million in the last budget. Section B goes through Burlington Mills. Section C goes through the N.C. 98 Bypass. The last section, section D, would extend to Harris and Purnell roads in Wake Forest. In the meantime, congestion is getting worse, particularly where the road narrows to two lanes near I-540. NCDOT has long-planned to replace intersections with interchanges and widen the road to a six-lane freeway. That way it could be a continuous, uninterrupted commute with a 65 mph speed limit. But funding continues to be an issue. The latest draft pushes the project back another five years, into 2031. Hopkins said as the state grows -- North Carolina is now projected to be the seventh most-populated state by the early 2030s -- infrastructure improvements need to be prioritized. "For us to keep up with it, we do need to have toll options in our toolbox," Hopkins said. "If the local community says we need to stop ... as a Department of Transportation secretary, I'll help work with them." That's how a recently-completed study that details what tolls on the highway would look like came to happen at the request of the North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO). A North Carolina Turnpike Authority spokesperson said the preliminary analysis looked at four toll delivery scenarios for Capital Boulevard, which could be considered at the CAMPO meeting scheduled for March 19. The scenarios include two all-tolled scenarios like the Triangle Expressway or Monroe Expressway, as well as two options for express lanes like the I-485 express lanes in Charlotte. Tolls would allow NCDOT to borrow money to pay for construction. It could then pay the debt back with toll revenues, similar to what's happening with Complete 540. In order for toll roads to be implemented, local planning organizations have to approve them before they move forward. And toll projects are not always popular. I-95, for example, is another costly project the state hopes to someday prioritize. While tolls were discussed awhile ago for the interstate, there haven't been any recent conversations by state officials. But that didn't stop a group of legislators from introducing a bill that would prohibit tolls on I-95. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Triangle Towne Center Boulevard in Raleigh to I495 / Us 64 / Us 264 in Knightdale. Pavement Rehabilitation. County : Wake Route : I-540 Length (Miles) : 8.97 Sti Category Funded : Statewide Mobility As of December 9 , 2025, the project is in Conceptual status. Anticipated letting Year is 2031 NC DOT - Pavement Rehabilitation - I-540 *Project information has been obtained through a public state transportation improvement plan (STIP). A STIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the STIP often evolves based on funding availability. The project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.