Planners Consider Changing U.S. 1 North To Limited Access Freeway

From Interstate 540 to Youngsville in Franklin County, traffic and development have not completely taken over the landscape. Planners think turning that stretch of U.S. 1 into a limited access freeway is the way to go, but time is running out.

"If you're going to need additional right-of-way or need to reconfigure lanes and reconfigure access points, it's easier to have that plan now than have to go back and retrofit and buy up people's access rights," said Wake Forest planning director Chip Russell. "It makes it more expensive to do it later than to do it now."

For $400,000, a consultant will study the possiblities of Capital Boulevard north as a freeway. Enacting the plan will not be cheap. One suggestion to make Capital Boulevard more like a freeway is to rebuild intersections like Capital Boulevard and Durant Road. To keep U.S. 1 moving, crews would build a bridge to take Durant Road over Capital Boulevard.

Some people said they do not mind having a study done.

"It's well worth a study as long as the study doesn't take too long and they can come to a conclusion as soon as possible," said business owner Barrett Hudson.

The yearlong study starts next month. Planners are also looking for your opinions. Several public meetings will be announced during the study period to gather people's thoughts on the U.S. 1 corridor plan.