NCDOT has updated its plans to widen NC 42 near Clayton. Here’s how to learn more.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is ready to unveil its latest plans for widening a busy stretch of N.C. 42 in western Johnston County, even if the start of construction remains years away.
NCDOT will hold an open house in Clayton on Thursday to answer questions about its plans and take feedback. In particular, the department wants to know what people think about its designs for a three-mile section of N.C. 42 between the Clayton Bypass and Interstate 40, including two options for improving the congested Cornwallis Road intersection.
The open house will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Clayton Center, 111 East Second St. downtown.
Altogether, NCDOT plans to widen eight miles of N.C. 42 from two lanes to four with a median, between U.S. 70 Business in Clayton and N.C. 50 west of I-40.
The state first rolled out plans to widen the road in late 2017 in hopes of starting construction in 2022. At that time, traffic studies showed that most of the road was at or over capacity, and it has only gotten busier since then.
But NCDOT now doesn’t plan to begin adding lanes until 2029. The project was among many delayed in 2019 when the department struggled to pay for cleanup after hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 and to settle lawsuits related to the Map Act, a law the state used to reserve land for future roads without actually buying it.
More recently, a dip in gas tax receipts during the COVID-19 pandemic combined with inflation in labor and materials costs have led to further delays, said NCDOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale. In 2017, NCDOT estimated the project would cost $66 million; the current estimate is $132 million, including more than $31 million to buy right-of-way.
Despite delays, NCDOT presses ahead with designs
NCDOT doesn’t expect to begin buying right-of-way until 2027, with construction to begin two years later.
That’s well after contractors finish widening I-40 between Raleigh and the N.C. 42 interchange in late 2024. Some residents in the Cleveland community around the interchange have complained that the wider I-40 will simply dump more traffic on to already busy two-lane roads in the area, including N.C. 42.
NCDOT began planning to widen N.C. 42 in western Johnston County as far back as 1996, as the county became a bedroom community for the booming Triangle. Between 2012 and 2015, Johnston County, the Town of Clayton and the Capital Area Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization all endorsed similar widening proposals.
NCDOT is working to refine its plans years in advance so the department can better coordinate with property owners along a fast-developing road, says Addison Gainey, a project development engineer. NCDOT also wants to be ready to begin construction as soon as possible, Gainey said.
“We are working to complete final plans early in case additional funding becomes available to accelerate the project or a portion of it,” he wrote in an email. “While additional funding and acceleration are never guarantees, the department wants to be prepared for all scenarios on this important corridor.”
The department will hold future open houses as design work for other sections of the eight-mile project is completed.
For more information about NCDOT’s plans to widen N.C. 42, go to www.ncdot.gov/projects/nc-42-widening/. In addition to Thursday’s open house, people may submit comments by calling 984-205-6615, project code 2070; emailing NC-42-Widening-Survey@PublicInput.com or writing to Russell Broadwell, NCDOT project engineer, Division 4, P.O. Box 3165, Wilson, N.C. 27895.
This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
