Home Care In Raleigh, NC

The N.C. Department of Transportation has been planning for years to convert a congested stretch of Capital Boulevard into a freeway between Raleigh and Wake Forest but has enough money to begin work on only a small part of it.

Now the regional transportation planning organization has asked NCDOT to look into whether it makes sense to accelerate construction by turning the completed highway into a toll road. NCDOT, through the N.C. Turnpike Authority, would be able to borrow the money it needs for the project and pay it back with future toll revenue, much the way it has financed and built N.C. 540, the Triangle Expressway, in southern Wake County.

The study has support from town boards in Wake Forest, Franklinton and Youngsville, as well as the Regional Transportation Alliance, an arm of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Joe Milazzo, the group’s executive director, said a preliminary analysis by the Turnpike Authority suggests NCDOT could accelerate construction with tolls ranging from $2 to $3 for those driving the 10-mile highway from I-540 to the Franklin County line.

“We want to see what the detailed study would tell us,” Milazzo wrote in an email. “Of course, the reality is that Capital Boulevard travelers are already paying a toll of delay and stress every day with nothing to show for it.”

Capital Boulevard, which is also U.S. 1, is mostly a four-lane divided highway north of I-540 with driveways on both sides and traffic lights where cars can back up a mile or more at rush hour.

NCDOT’s plans call for a six-lane freeway with a concrete median and a speed limit of 65 mph. Instead of intersections, there would be four new interchanges at Durant/Perry Creek roads, Burlington Mills Road, Falls of Neuse Road/Main Street and Purnell/Harris roads.

The plans also call for new access roads to reach homes and businesses that now have driveways on Capital and those side streets that would lose direct access.

In 2018, NCDOT estimated building all 10 miles of freeway would cost about $465 million. Now, with rising costs for land, materials and labor, the department expects it would cost more than $750 million.

Because of competition from other projects across the state, NCDOT has money only for the first leg of the freeway, between I-540 and Durant and Perry Creek roads in Raleigh. That 1.5-mile section alone would cost about $280 million. NCDOT hopes to begin construction on that section in 2025, with work on the remaining sections coming no sooner than 2029.

The executive board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which helps set transportation priorities for the region, voted unanimously Jan. 17 to request the toll study. Chris Lukasina, CAMPO’s executive director, said support for the study by local governments and business groups doesn’t necessarily mean support for tolls.

“They’re simply endorsing the study of whether to use toll revenue as a viable and possibly preferred way to accelerate the freeway upgrade,” Lukasina said. “The study will provide the information that our elected officials need to make a good, informed decision.”

NCDOT hasn’t determined what the study will look like or how long it would take, according to spokeswoman Kim Deaner. Lukasina said it would likely take months and almost certainly involve significant public involvement.

The results would come back to CAMPO, which under state law would need to approve any new toll road in Wake County. The General Assembly may need to approve tolling Capital Boulevard as well, Deaner said.

“A potential legislative change would depend on the type of tolling facility,” she wrote in an email. “Adding express lanes would likely not require a legislative change, while a fully tolled expressway likely would.”

Deaner also noted that a change in spending priorities at NCDOT could make the toll study moot.

NCDOT works off a 10-year plan that it updates every two years. The department sets its priorities with a formula that grades and ranks big highway projects based on how much they would cut congestion while promoting safety and economic development. Projects that rank higher tend to get done sooner.

NCDOT divided the U.S. 1 freeway project into four sections, and only the first leg, from I-540 to Durant and Perry Creek roads, scored high enough to get funding in the most recent plan.

NCDOT set a tentative date for breaking ground on the second and third legs in 2029 but won’t know for sure until priorities are reassessed in the years ahead. Those legs would extend the freeway north as far as N.C. 98 Business.

Meanwhile, the department doesn’t have money to start building the final leg, north to Purnell/Harris roads, any time in the next decade.

But that could change. It’s possible that some or all of those legs could move up NCDOT’s priorities list in the next version of the 10-year plan, which will be adopted in 2025.

A pair of new pastry shops look to debut in the Triangle this year, owned by chefs with backgrounds in some of the area’s top restaurants.

Tepuy Donuts will launch its first brick-and-mortar location this summer just outside the Raleigh Beltline, building on the momentum of its doughnuts sold in nearly a dozen Triangle cafes and restaurants. The doughnut shop from former Mandolin line cook Alejandro Contreras will breathe new life into a former strip mall tax office on Capital Boulevard.

The new Lutra Bakeshop held its first pop-up last weekend, selling out of more than 200 artisan sticky buns and other baked treats within a couple hours.

Here’s more about the two pastry shops.

Lutra debuts at the walk-up window of the downtown Durham restaurant Queeny’s.

The new stickybun shop is the baking project of former Poole’side Pies chef de cuisine Chris McLaurin, who created the concept late last year following the closing of the Raleigh pizzeria. Pop-ups will be from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sundays from the Queeny’s sidewalk window, located at 321 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham.

That first menu included four sticky bun flavors: orange, chocolate, salted honey and lemon poppyseed, plus pretzels and cookies and cups of coffee brewed from Durham’s Little Waves beans.

McLaurin grew up in Chapel Hill and has been cooking professionally for about 15 years, first entering the Washington, DC restaurant scene after culinary school, cooking at two of the city’s very best restaurants of the time, the fine dining Komi and the fiery Thai spot Little Serow. He returned to the Triangle in 2013 and has worked at Picnic, Rose’s, La Place and most recently Poole’side Pies.

Lutra is named after the Latin word for “otter,” which McLaurin says he’s using to set a playful tone for the shop.

“Otters are a little playful and mischievous, we’re not taking things too seriously here,” McLaurin said. “Our menu is sticky buns and cinnamon roll--total nostalgia. For me, I think of pulling apart Pillsbury cinnamon rolls while watching cartoons on a Saturday morning.”

Cinnamon buns will be the focal point, McLaurin said, alongside other brioche-based sweet and savory pastries, and eventually some baked loaves.

Lutra is currently looking for its brick-and-mortar space in Durham and will operate Sundays out of the Queeny’s window.

In a way, Tepuy Donuts owner Alejandro Contreras set off on his quest of doughnut perfection after catching the inspiration of a hot and fresh glazed original from Krispy Kreme.

“To be honest, I love Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme was the kick for me to jump into doughnuts and pull the trigger on my own shop,” Contreras said. “I was living in Argentina and came to the States to visit friends in Florida. They took me to Krispy Kreme and I felt the magic of the warm glazed doughnut.”

When the Venezuela native returned to Argentina he said he searched for something similar to his doughnut experience, but everything came up short.

“I just didn’t like them,” he said. “So I was like, (screw) it; I’ll do it myself. After trials and repeats I came up with the recipe. That’s the inspiration, it’s Krispy Kreme with a kick.”

Contraras moved to the United States in 2019 and started working at the Raleigh fine dining restaurant Mandolin as a line cook. On the side he continued tinkering with his doughnut recipe and when the pandemic hit and restaurants changed their service models, Mandolin chef and owner Sean Fowler put Contreras’ doughnut on the menu in to-go meal packages.

Contreras believes the distinctiveness of Tepuy’s sourdough doughnuts helped build its following, which now includes 11 cafes around the Triangle, notably Idle Hour Coffee Roasters in Raleigh.

“We didn’t have any fancy doughnuts around, sourdough doughnuts,” Contreras said. “I think it’s the quality and creativity, they’re kind of an upscale experience.”

A few staples include the creme brulee doughnut with a sheen of crispy sugar, and a popular doughnut with a vibrant pink icing, which is sometimes strawberry and sometimes raspberry, but also imbued with the tartness of fresh fruit. Sometimes the flavors play with sweet and savory combinations, like a popular maple bacon, or a filled version, that includes goat cheese pastry creme, a fig glaze and crumbles of crispy prosciutto.

“Doughnuts are very universal, they’re a staple, I think more than cookies or croissants,” Contreras said. “There’s so much you can do with them, there’s no limit.”

Tepuy hopes to open at 2820 Capital Blvd. this summer, eyeing June for its debut. Until then, Contreras continues with weekly deliveries and wholesale drops.

The cafe will include daily doughnuts, plus savory options like pizza rolls and veggie rolls. The full drink menu will eventually include espresso drinks, but initially will be drip coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Nodding towards his inspiration, Contreras plans to have a walk-up window for hot fresh doughnuts, plus warm chocolate and caramel sauces for dipping.

“There’s nothing like a fresh doughnut,” Contreras said. “You can’t beat that.”

RALEIGH, N.C. –North Carolina came close but couldn't quite pull out a road win against fifth-ranked NC State on Thursday night, briefly pulling ahead in the fourth quarter but ultimately falling 63-59 in an Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball matchup at Reynolds Coliseum.

Senior Deja Kelly led the No. 24 Tar Heels (15-7, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 21 points, 15 of which came in the third quarter. Senior Alyssa Ustby and junior Maria Gakdeng both turned in 10-point, 11-rebound double-doubles for UNC. For Ustby, it was her 11^th double-double of the season and 33^rd of her career. It was Gakdeng's first as a Tar Heel and the fifth of her career.

UNC trailed by seven at halftime, 31-24, after its lowest scoring half in ACC play and its first half this season with neither a three-pointer or a free throw.

In the third quarter, Kelly quickly took care of both of those, hitting a pair of free throws 32 seconds into the period and then her team's first three at the 7:45 mark to make the margin six, 37-31. She scored Carolina's first 10 points of the period and the Tar Heels continued to surge, ending the quarter within a point, 49-48.

A jumper by Lexi Donarski 35 seconds into the fourth quarter put UNC up by a point, and a putback by Gakdeng made it a three-point Carolina lead at 52-49 with 8:33 to play. But the Wolfpack again pulled ahead on back-to-back Aziaha James buckets, and NC State never trailed again.

After the Wolfpack went up by eight with 4:33 to play on a pair of James free throws, UNC's Reniya Kelly scored five points in a row to pull her team within three, 62-59, with 3:45 remaining but the Tar Heels didn't score again and NC State came up with just one more free throw, with seven seconds to play. Both teams missed their last five shots of the night.

Saniya Rivers finished with 14 points and grabbed nine boards for the Wolfpack (19-2, 7-2), and Mimi Collins added another 14 points with seven rebounds. James and Zoe Brooks scored 10 each.

The loss was UNC's third of the season to a team currently ranked in the nation's top five.

The Tar Heels are back in action on Sunday, facing off against another ranked team in No. 17 Virginia Tech. The noon game is UNC's annual Play4Kay game, and the first 1,000 fans will get pink t-shirts.

Notes: • Kelly's 21-point game was her eighth of the season and fifth in ACC play at 20 or more. • UNC's five free throw attempts marked a season low, and the team's five makes equaled a season low.