After years of delay, US 401 overhaul in Garner gets underway soon
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A one-mile stretch of U.S. 401 in Garner will be rebuilt over the next three years.
- Project will add a lane each way, raised median, sidewalks and crosswalks.
- State awarded a nearly $26 million construction contract to Conti Civil.
A one-mile stretch of U.S. 401 in Garner will be rebuilt over the next three years to try to improve traffic flow and reduce the number of accidents.
N.C. Department of Transportation contractors will add another lane in both directions south of the U.S. 70 split to just beyond Old Stage Road. They’ll also build a raised median to limit where drivers can turn left in or out of businesses.
In addition, the town is kicking in some money to help build sidewalks and crosswalks where none exist today.
An average of 48,500 cars and trucks used this stretch of U.S. 401/Fayetteville Road each day in 2024, according to NCDOT. That number is expected to increase by up to 25% by 2040.
By then, studies show congestion would delay drivers by nearly 2.5 minutes, according to NCDOT. The planned improvements wouldn’t eliminate delays but could cut them in half, the department says.
NCDOT engineers presented their plans for U.S. 401 to the public in 2018 and had expected to begin construction in 2020. Financial problems brought on in part by two major hurricanes and Map Act lawsuit settlements prompted the department to delay dozens of projects statewide. The COVID-19 pandemic caused further delays.
The state now has the money to complete the Garner project. It expects to spend $6.3 million on right-of-way and utility work, and recently awarded a nearly $26 million construction contract to Conti Civil.
It’s not clear yet when Conti will begin the work, but it has until May 14, 2029, to get it done.
When it’s finished, this section of Fayetteville Road will be what engineers call a “synchronized street.” The design, which NCDOT uses on a growing number of busy roads, reduces crisscrossing traffic by cutting down on left turns in and out of businesses and side streets. Drivers who want to turn left must instead turn right and proceed to a break in the median to make a U-turn at a separate traffic signal.
In addition to cutting down on crashes at intersections, the design reduces the amount of time that through traffic is brought to a stop. And there will be more room, with a third lane for through traffic in both directions, for a total of six.
