Raleigh moves forward with plan to widen Six Forks Road to 6 lanes

After more than a year of debate, the city is moving forward with a plan to widen the Six Forks Road corridor to six lanes.

The Raleigh City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to consider widening a 2.3-mile stretch of Six Forks from Lynn Road to the Interstate 440 Beltline. The road is currently four lanes, except near North Hills, where it is six lanes.

“Making the Six Forks corridor consistently six lanes will increase vehicular, pedestrian and bike safety while dealing with our city’s tremendous growth as sustainably as possible,” said Councilman Bonner Gaylord, who represents the area.

Earlier this year, the City Council considered keeping Six Forks a four-lane road and adding a median and bike path.

Raleigh staff gathered feedback on that idea, and more than 70 percent of respondents said they wanted the corridor to be six lanes. Residents’ biggest priority was improving traffic flow for cars and buses along the busy road, which carries about 50,000 vehicles per day.

Staff will update the Six Forks Road Corridor Study, hold another public comment period and send a revised study to the planning commission.

North Hills, which includes stores, restaurants, luxury apartments and officer towers, is generally considered one of Raleigh’s biggest development successes. But its popularity has contributed to traffic woes.

Six Forks Road has a crash rate that is two times higher than the state average for similar-size roads.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Raleigh moves forward with plan to widen Six Forks Road to 6 lanes."