Primary Study Goal
To develop a transportation system consistent with the Strategic Highway Corridors initiative definition that will serve the mobility needs of people and freight to and through central North Carolina while addressing the environmental and economic development opportunities of the public.
Study Objectives
Enhance transportation connectivity and mobility
Serve as a reliever to I-40 and I-85
Improve safety
Support regional and local transit plans
Support economic development
Support local land use plans
Optimize costs and benefits to system users and funding agencies
Be sensitive to environmental and social factors
Phase 1
The first phase of the U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor is complete. Phase 1 consists of a regional assessment of transportation needs and the evaluation of broad alternative roadway investment strategies to meet those needs as well as satisfy the objectives of a Strategic Highway Corridor. The product of Phase 1 is a corridor vision. Subsequent study phases will transition the corridor vision to location specific alternatives and evaluation.
Why is this Study Important to You?
The U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study represents a detailed planning process with exhaustive research, valuable background studies, conclusions and recommendations for NCDOT to use in forming a comprehensive, consensus-based vision for the corridor for the next 25 years. The resulting vision will be used to influence key decisions related to design, location, access, local land use decisions, project planning and funding. The vision translates into a broad "master plan" improvement strategy for the enhancement and long-term preservation of passenger and freight mobility within the study area.
Supporting a Growing Population and Economic Development
The population of the counties in the study area totaled over 3.5 million as of the 2000 census. Population growth has been rapid over the past few years —especially in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas — and experts expect a continued increase over the next 25 years. The U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study examines existing population statistics, forecasted population change (through the year 2030), and population density, as well as household and employment growth, land use, economic development, and major environmental features. In terms of economic development specifically, maintaining access to business centers throughout the corridor is an important theme in the study, particularly in the counties around the Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Charlotte urban centers. All of these factors — from population growth to economic development — contribute to decisions on which alternatives will best serve North Carolina and those traveling within the study area.
Travel Demand Forecasting
Large and complex highway planning exercises often use travel demand forecasting models to help analyze the need for alternative highway investments. For the U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study, a transportation model was developed as a forecasting tool to produce reliable estimates of both the potential increases in travel demand across the study area resulting from projected population and employment growth and the potential traffic diversion effects of providing additional highway improvements along the study corridor.
A Vision for Future Roadway Improvements
The planning horizon for the study is the year 2030, and it can be expected that many improvements will be made to the existing highway system in the study area in that period of time. The U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study looks at small and large programmed and planned roadway improvements for the next 25 years and highlights those major projects that would result in the addition of through travel lanes to some portion of the public highway system in the study area. Compiling and presenting this information provides a more informed outlook on what can be expected in terms of future improvements and how that applies to future decisions.
Ensuring Public Safety
The U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study provides valuable background information and research on safety conditions, including crash data, potentially hazardous locations such as intersections, bridges, roadway sections and bicycle and pedestrian areas, interstate accidents, and highway safety "hot spots." One example of a safety improvement issue explored in the study is the substantiated theory that drivers on divided highways are likely to experience lower crash rates than drivers on undivided highways. A coordinated look at safety factors such as these as part of the vision for the Corridor moving forward will help ensure a safer tomorrow for motorists.
The Importance of Preserving Corridors
Corridor preservation is crucial to ensuring that important roadway projects are able to follow the most desirable route with minimal capital, environmental and social costs. While a complex issue, the problem is essentially the need to prevent development within planned rights-of-way in order to protect key sections of planned corridors until construction begins, without contravening any Federal approval processes or requirements. This is an issue that local, regional and state planning entities must work together to address.
Supporting Documents
The U.S. 64-N.C. 49 Corridor Study has produced a series of valuable resources in the form of supporting documents and research papers, available for download from the
Project Documents page.