Let’s visit I-40 in Orange County
RTA will have our first field visit of 2026, on the morning of Tuesday, April 14, to a portion of the I-40 widening project in Orange County.
This I-40 corridor improvement is essential for the entire state, as it represents the final segment of the 200+ mile I-40/85 freeway corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte (actually between western Johnston and western Gaston counties) that is not yet at least three lanes per direction.
Register via this link; initial maximum of two attendees per RTA member organization. The visit will occur between 10 am and 11 am on 4/14; arrival can occur as soon as 9:30 am.
The regional business community applauds our partners at NCDOT Division 7 for their vital leadership on this important multimodal freeway, which is essential for commerce, commuting, tourism, transit, and overall quality of life for our extended market and indeed for all of North Carolina. We hope you or a colleague can join us on April 14 to learn about, and celebrate, the excellent progress of this freeway improvement that will be completed later this summer.
The Southeast Corridor continues to advance
North Carolina has been working with Virginia, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and other partners on a future high speed passenger rail corridor between Raleigh and Richmond. Va. for over 30 years. Even if you never plan to use the future high speed rail corridor, you and your associates will benefit from the series of railroad-highway grade separations NCDOT is constructing between Raleigh and Wake Forest. The first one, which will carry Durant Road over the railroad in northeast Raleigh, began construction in 2024. A second one, which will carry New Hope Road over the railroad, is the topic of this week’s blog.
FRA Deputy Administrator Drew Feeley was in Raleigh a little over a week ago to observe the beginning of the New Hope Road bridge construction. Kudos to NCDOT for continuing to support this intercity passenger rail improvement. Read more in this week’s blog.
A lot of positive movement on vital projects supported by the regional business community. This is great news for 2026, and for our region, and we are just getting started.
Let’s get moving.
Joe
