U.S. 401 expansion to begin next month

Approximately $8.6 million in economic stimulus funds will go toward widening 2.3 miles of U.S. Highway 401 in northeast Wake County between Ligon Mill and Louisbury roads.

Work is expected to begin Feb. 1 and be completed by Dec. 31, 2011.

The two-lane stretch will be turned into a four-lane, divided highway with additional traffic signals and noise walls.

Residents in the area have been asking for the expansion for years because of growth. Northbound U.S. 401 at Ligon Mill Road funnels from two lanes to one, causing congestion.