Wayne roads to be in state plan
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 14, 2016 9:57 AM
Improvements to U.S. 70, U.S. 117 and Wayne Memorial Drive are expected to be included in the state's next draft 10-year transportation plan, which will be released in January 2017
The plan calls for upgrading U.S. 70 to freeway standards from the west end of the U.S. 70 Bypass to the Wayne-Johnston county line by eliminating at-grade intersections and driveway connections, which will improve traffic flow and safety.
U.S. 117 from Lee's Country Club Road to Old Smith Chapel Road at Mount Olive would be upgraded by constructing a new connector road along U.S 117 and converting the intersections to interchanges.
Wayne Memorial Drive would be widened to a multi-lane highway between New Hope Road and U.S. 70 Bypass.
The N.C. Department of Transportation Wednesday afternoon announced the division level transportation projects. The plan includes the years 2018 through 2027.
The draft 10-year plan is scheduled to be released in January 2017. A public comment period will be held and then the final plan is expected to be adopted by the N.C. Board of Transportation in June 2017.
Nine aviation, nine bicycle and pedestrian, one transit and 14 highway projects are expected to be funded at the division level for Division Four, which consists of Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Wayne and Wilson counties.
Other projects include:
* Widening existing N.C. 125 from Interstate 95 to Old Farm Road in Roanoke Rapids.
* Upgrading aviation facilities at the Johnston County Regional Airport by constructing a new T-hangar area and apron.
* Installing a multi-use pedestrian and bike trail in Rocky Mount and the surrounding area, which will include the conversion of an existing abandoned railroad line.
"Our robust transportation network supports our strong economy and improved quality of life," Gov. Pat McCrory said. "Through the new transportation funding formula, we took the politics out of transportation planning to ensure roads and other important infrastructure are prioritized based on data, while providing flexibility to meet local needs.
"The new funding formula allows us to make smart decisions that keep North Carolina moving and these projects demonstrate the process is working as intended."
A complete list of projects can be found at NCDOT.gov/STI.
"These projects will help fulfill Gov. McCrory's 25-year vision for transportation in North Carolina by better connecting communities across the state," State Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson said.
The projects are being paid for under the state's Strategic Transportation Investments law, which allows the department to use data and local input to fund transportation projects at three levels: statewide, regionally and locally (also referred to as being at the division level.
The list of statewide projects in the draft program was released in May. In August, the regional project scores were released.
The DOT's 14 local divisions and the local planning organizations across the state used this information, along with public feedback, to assign their local input points to projects at the division level.
Now that all project scores have been finalized at the statewide, regional and division levels, the top-scoring projects will be scheduled into the DOT's next 10-year plan based on available funding and other factors -- such as the status of environmental studies -- that affect when a project can be completed.
The Strategic Transportation Investments Law, championed by McCrory with bipartisan support from the General Assembly, was signed into law in June 2013.
Under the new funding formula, projects are evaluated based on a combination of data and local input.
Statewide project scores are based entirely on data-driven criteria; regional project scores are based on 70 percent data and 30 percent local input, which is based on an established methodology; and division project scores are based on 50 percent data and 50 percent local input.
Projects that did not score high enough to be funded at the statewide level rolled over to the regional level to be considered for funding. Projects that did not make the list for regional-level funding could still be considered at the division level.
This cascading aspect of the process helps ensure that local input plays an important role in prioritizing projects for funding, DOT officials said.
The department's 10-year plan is updated every two years using this process. Projects scheduled into the first five years of the plan are considered committed and will not be reevaluated, but projects in the final five years of each 10-year plan will be prioritized again for inclusion in the next plan.