A new connector opens in Clayton, bypassing the town’s busiest road
Drivers have a new option for getting through Clayton that avoids the most congested road in town.
Ranch Road now runs directly between the Clayton Bypass interchange and the eastern leg of N.C. 42, allowing drivers to move east-west through town without getting on what’s now known as Clayton Boulevard, the former U.S. 70 Business.
The N.C. Department of Transportation opened the new connector road on Monday afternoon. It extends Ranch Road to the intersection of Clayton Boulevard and N.C. 42 East.
As part of the project, the intersection of Ranch and Little Creek Church roads was realigned and a new traffic signal installed. The signal was turned on Monday.
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The connector road is less than a half mile long. But it was a big priority for the town, which expects it will help ease traffic on Clayton Boulevard and reduce response times from fire station No. 2 to areas south of the highway. It will also give trucks from Caterpillar, Grifols and other businesses along Clayton Boulevard and N.C. 42 a more direct route to the bypass, which is now part of Interstate 42.
“Traffic congestion remains one of the top concerns of our residents, and this project is one of those rare projects that you can say will truly benefit everyone,” former Town Manager Adam Lindsay said in 2020 when NCDOT announced the project.
After a delay during the COVID-19 pandemic, construction began in the fall of 2022.
The new road cost $9.7 million, paid for in part by the town and a contingency fund that the legislature can draw on for NCDOT road projects.
The contractor on the project, Fred Smith Co. of Raleigh, was required to have the road open by May 1. It succeeded, but has some minor work to finish up, including the permanent lane markings, which will be in place by summer.
