DOT Announces Timetable for Proposed Toll Roads

Raleigh, N.C. — The state Department of Transportation on Tuesday approved a preliminary timetable for constructing two proposed toll raods in Wake County.

The DOT is considering building the Western Wake Expressway -- the leg of Interstate 540 that will stretch south from Interstate 40 to N.C. Highway 55 in Holly Springs -- and the Research Triangle Parkway -- a stretch of road to connect I-540 with the Durham Freeway -- as toll roads to speed their construction.

Officials said the could begin the bidding process on the two roads in June and begin turning dirt on the projects by August 2008. If everything stays on schedule, the two roads could open by 2011, officials said.