RALEIGH - If Annette Cheney doesn't leave her house in the Riverside subdivision off Perry Creek Road at a decent hour weekday mornings, she needs to pack a little patience.

Residents have complained that the road is jammed with traffic, and it is very difficult to turn onto Capital Boulevard or get into the subdivisions along the street. Cheney tries to avoid Perry Creek on weekends during soccer games at the WRAL Soccer Center.

Cheney said some motorists will drive on the wrong side of the road trying to make the light.

"It's a big problem," she said.

Cheney's concerns are familiar to Lynn Raynor, senior project engineer with the city of Raleigh. Raynor said help is on the way.

Perry Creek is slated for reconstruction. The city approved the $10.3 million project in January. Workers will transform the 1.6-mile road into five lanes, including turn lanes and sidewalks.

"It will help reduce if not eliminate the bottleneck," Raynor said.

The project should be finished in 2010. Already, the city is working on right-of-way acquisition for the widening. Raynor expects that phase to last until the fall.

Traffic will be rerouted through side streets next year, Raynor said. The work will take place on weekends, and crews will coordinate schedules with soccer games.