Work begins soon on short, new road that will make it easier to get through Clayton
Work is about to start on a new road in Clayton that aims to help people avoid one of the town’s biggest traffic bottlenecks.
Contractors will soon begin building a less than half-mile connector between what is now called Little Creek Church Road and the intersection of U.S. 70 Business and N.C. 42. That will create a direct link from the eastern leg of N.C. 42 to the Ranch Road interchange on the Clayton Bypass and allow drivers passing through town on N.C. 42 to avoid U.S. 70 Business, arguably the most congested road in town.
The name of the new road isn’t clear yet. The N.C. Department of Transportation calls the project the Ranch Road extension, because when it’s done State Route 1560, the numerical name for Ranch Road, will go from the bypass to N.C. 42.
But that may mean changing the name of a section of Little Creek Church Road between Boiling Street and where Ranch Road branches off now. The name of Rose Street, a short dead-end street that will become part of the new road, may also go away.
The town and county will ultimately decide what to call the new route, said Addison Gainey, a project development engineer for NCDOT.
The project is a priority for the town, which says it will help ease traffic on U.S. 70 Business and reduce response times from fire station No. 2 to areas south of 70. It will also give trucks from Caterpillar, Grifols and other businesses along N.C. 42 and U.S. 70 a more direct route to the bypass, which is now part of Interstate 42.
The contractor, Fred Smith Co. of Raleigh, can begin work as soon as Nov. 28 and must have the road open by May 1, 2025, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The project also includes realigning the intersections of Ranch Road with Little Creek Church Road and Boiling Street. Both intersections will also get traffic lights for the first time.
NCDOT is taking two houses on Rose Street, where the new extension will meet N.C. 42 and U.S. 70 Business.
The work will cost $9.7 million, with the money coming from a variety of sources. They include a contingency fund that the legislature can draw on for NCDOT road projects.
