Selection
would avoid impacting downtown businesses
ANGIER – The N.C. Department of
Transportation has selected an alternative for improving nearly 11.5 miles of
N.C. 55 in Harnett and Wake counties.
The department
proposes widening the two-lane highway into four lanes with a raised median
along portions of the existing corridor and along a new route that would go
around the west side of Angier in Harnett County. The project is aimed at
improving safety and reducing congestion along the highway.
Engineers and
planners in the department made the selection after reviewing more than 200
comments about the project from last year’s open
house, as well as analyzing the projected traffic volumes and reviewing
both environmental and human impacts on the alternatives.
The selected
alternative was marked “Corridor B” on maps
at last year’s public meeting. The selected N.C. 55 route would begin just
south of Oak Grove Church Road and follow the existing highway north to
approximately Ennis Road. From there, the highway would go onto a new location
just west of downtown Angier. It would rejoin N.C. 55 near the Wake/Harnett
County line, then follow the existing road north to the intersection with N.C.
42.
Alternative B
will avoid impacting businesses through downtown Angier, where on average
19,000 vehicles pass through the corridor each day. If nothing is built,
according to traffic projections, the daily volume will grow to almost 30,000
vehicles by 2040 within the downtown area.
The department
will hold another public meeting this fall with preliminary maps showing the
selected alternative.
At this time,
funding for right-of-way acquisition and construction is available only for the
portion between just south of Oak Grove Church Road and Jicarilla Lane in
Wake County. Land acquisition is scheduled for 2020, followed by the start of
construction two years later.