Lots of people are eager to see congested Capital Boulevard turned into a six-lane expressway between Raleigh and Wake Forest. But are they willing to pay tolls to make it happen sooner?
That’s a question regional transportation planners are asking after the N.C. Turnpike Authority studied four options for collecting tolls on the planned expressway. The options and a survey can be found online, with a May 14 deadline for public feedback.
Partially financing the project with toll money would allow construction to begin as much as four years sooner, according to the study. As of now, because of rising costs and competition from other projects across the state, the N.C. Department of Transportation doesn’t expect to begin construction until 2031.
But three of the four tolling options would allow construction to get started sometime in 2027; the fourth option would have construction beginning in 2030.
Rising costs for land, materials and labor have forced NCDOT to delay the Capital Boulevard/U.S. 1 freeway project. In 2018, the department estimated the 10-mile highway would cost about $465 million and that construction would begin in 2021.
By 2023, that estimate had climbed to $750 million. Now the latest reckoning puts the cost at $1.34 billion.
To make the project more competitive with others in the state, NCDOT broke it into four parts and proposed to start with the first leg, between Interstate 540 and Durant and Perry Creek roads in Raleigh. That 1.5-mile section alone would cost about $516 million, NCDOT now says.
Last year, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the regional transportation organization, asked NCDOT to look at how tolling might help. CAMPO, which is governed by representatives of local governments in Wake and surrounding counties, would need to approve tolls on Capital Boulevard.
The Turnpike Authority, a branch of NCDOT, considered four scenarios:
? Scenario 1: Tolling the entire 10-mile stretch from I-540 north through Wake Forest as a standalone toll road. Would raise an estimated $800 million.
? Scenario 2: Tolling the entire 10 miles but adding it to the N.C. Turnpike system, which would allow the state to borrow more money. Would generate an estimated $1.4 billion.
? Scenario 3: Build and toll one express lane in each direction, again as a standalone toll road. The existing four-lane road would remain free. Would raise an estimated $100 million.
? Scenario 4: Build and toll one express lane in each direction and add them to the N.C. Turnpike system. With the additional borrowing power, the lanes would generate an estimated $600 million.
Scenarios 1 and 2 would allow construction to begin in the spring of 2027, the study estimates, while Scenario 4 would have work starting in the fall of 2027. Scenario 3 would generate only enough toll money to allow construction to start in 2030.
The project is expected to take six years to build.
The Turnpike Authority study doesn’t provide specific toll costs. But it says the rates for a fully tolled expressway would be similar to what drivers pay to use the Triangle Expressway in southern Wake County. This year, drivers with an NC Quick Pass pay about 23 cents a mile, though the rates rise a bit each year.
The toll rates for the express lanes would vary during the day, depending on traffic.
Scenarios 1, 2 and 4 would require some changes in state law by the General Assembly, while Scenario 3 — creating new express lanes and tolling them apart from the Turnpike system — does not.
The 10-mile expressway would be six lanes wide with a concrete median and a speed limit of 65 mph. Instead of intersections with traffic lights, there would be four new interchanges at Durant/Perry Creek roads, Burlington Mills Road, Falls of Neuse Road/Main Street and Purnell/Harris roads.
Other streets that now intersect with U.S. 1 would lose that direct connection. New access roads would reach homes and businesses that now have driveways on Capital.
The Turnpike Authority’s traffic models suggest that tolling U.S. 1 would prompt some drivers to seek other routes, such as Falls of Neuse or Ligon Mill roads, increasing travel times on those roads during commuting hours. The models determined the tolled express lanes would not result in drivers seeking alternative routes.
In addition to the website and online survey, people can learn more about tolls and share their thoughts at two public meetings: April 30 at Abbott’s Creek Community Center and May 5 at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts. Both events take place from 5 to 7 p.m.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 11:20 AM.
The News & Observer
919-829-4739
Richard Stradling covers transportation for The News & Observer. Planes, trains and automobiles, plus ferries, bicycles, scooters and just plain walking. He’s been a reporter or editor for 37 years, including the last 25 at The N&O. 919-829-4739, [email protected].