CHAPEL HILL – The traffic bottleneck that often takes place when Interstate 40 drops to two lanes in each direction between the split with I-85 near Hillsborough and the Durham County line would become a thing of the past with a proposed NCDOT project to widen the highway.
Planning is underway to add a lane in each direction. The estimated $161 million proposal would also improve the N.C. 86 exit and sections of that highway for several hundred feet both north and south of the interchange to help alleviate rush hour issues. It also includes some improvements for other interchanges on that stretch of highway.
The added lanes would be built within the existing median area and bring the highway up to three lanes each way. The widening work is included in the Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Plan.
One of the ideas being considered would alter the interchange at N.C. 86 by putting in a loop for the exit from westbound I-40, allowing drivers to more easily merge onto N.C. 86 heading to Chapel Hill. Currently those drivers must deal with a traffic light at the end of the westbound ramp.
Another idea being considered to improve traffic flow along N.C. 86 is to realign two roads that intersect with the highway close to the I-40 exit, one north of it and one south, farther away from the interchange. One of those shifts would create a four-way intersection and allow for the elimination of a traffic light that would no longer be needed.
Funding for the project could be approved sometime next summer, with right-of-way purchasing to start in 2021 and construction in 2023.
In the meantime, the NCDOT is soliciting public comments on the project. A planned public meeting was postponed on Nov. 5 by a water main break in Chapel Hill and will be rescheduled. Comments on the ideas can also be sent to Gene Tarascio of the NCDOT Project Management Unit at gtarascio@ncdot.gov or to Eric Midkiff at emidkiff@calyxengineers.com. Maps and other information are available on the NCDOT public meetings website.