RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $15.2 million contract to create a new interchange on the Triangle Expressway at Morrisville Parkway between Green Level West Road and N.C. 55 near mile marker 64.
The new project, awarded to Barnhill Contracting Co. of Rocky Mount, can begin as early as January 29. It will extend the parkway to the bridge from west of Highcroft Drive on the east side, and from east to near Mills Park Elementary School. It will also add ramps for the interchange, as well as signs and tolling infrastructure.
Construction would link the two sections of the road that are now separated by the expressway with a four-lane roadway. This added interchange was in the planning stages when the expressway was built, so part of that project was the building of a bridge over the expressway to minimize impacts to motorists during the interchange construction.
The new interchange is expected to be open for traffic in late 2019, with additional vegetation work to go to late March 2020.
The project is being built through a partnership with the Town of Cary, the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Turnpike Authority. The Town worked with the NCDOT and NCTA on the required designs and environmental studies. The new interchange is expected to improve connectivity in western Cary and help alleviate congestion on nearby roads, as drivers who want to use the Triangle Expressway will not have to travel to the existing interchanges at Green Level West Road and N.C. 55. Traffic along Morrisville Parkway is projected to increase from 11,850 vehicles per day in 2017 to 23,005 vehicles per day in 2037.
The interchange was requested by local transportation planners, and included in the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan and will improve mobility for current traffic, as well as for much larger volumes of traffic anticipated as a result of substantial growth/development.
This is the second interchange to be added along North Carolina’s first modern toll road since its final phase opened in 2013. The Morrisville Parkway interchange will provide additional access to the Triangle Expressway, similar to the Veridea Parkway interchange in Holly Springs, which opened to traffic in April 2017.