Raleigh - Work could begin later this month on a new interchange for the Triangle Expressway. The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $15.2 million contract for a new interchange at Morrisville Parkway Extension in Cary.
Construction would link the two sections of the road now separated by the expressway with a four-lane roadway. This added interchange was in the plans when the toll road was built, as part of that project was building of a bridge over the highway, so that section of the interchange is already in place.
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 of Mills Park Drive to the bridge on the west side. It will also add ramps for the interchange, as well as signs and tolling infrastructure.
The new interchange is expected to be open for vehicles by Oct. 1, 2019, with additional vegetation work to go to late March 2020.
The project is being built in a partnership with the Town of Cary, which worked with the NCDOT on the designs and environmental studies required. It is expected to improve connectivity in west Cary and help alleviate congestion on nearby roads as drivers who want to use the Triangle Expressway won’t have to travel over to Cary’s already existing interchanges at Green Level West Road and N.C. 55.
This will be the second new interchange for the expressway since the state’s first toll road opened its final phase in 2013. Last April, an interchange at the Veridea Parkway between U.S. 1 and the N.C. 55 Bypass in Holly Springs was added to the highway.