RTA Member Briefing: July 5
- July 12, 2024
- Posted by: Jacob Rigg
- Category: Member briefing
Construction begins on higher speed rail to Richmond
Last December, we spoke of a “three comma” (i.e., a $1,000,000,000) win for North Carolina, with a billion dollar grant for high speed rail from Raleigh to Richmond, Virginia. This month that win took its first concrete steps of becoming a reality, with the the ceremonial commencement of construction on July 1st, including remarks by NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and our Governor Roy Cooper. Here are a few links about this wonderful step for mobility (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
The first element of the project is a new bridge on Durant Road over the future high speed rail corridor. The bridge project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026; the first segment of the corridor (from Raleigh to Wake Forest in northern Wake County) is slated to be completed by 2030. Kudos to NCDOT, USDOT, and our partners with the Commonwealth of Virginia for the unified leadership and vision for future interstate mobility. We will continue to work with the NC Legislature and the incoming administration at the state and national levels to continue this vision of linking metropolitan areas with scalable, higher speed rail.
Meanwhile, RDU reaches over one mile high — with our newest nonstop international flight
July 1st was also an important day for air travel in the region. The first Aeromexico flight to RDU landed from Mexico City (MEX) at RDU on the first day of July. Travelers from North Carolina can now book flights daily from RDU to visit the 1.4-mile high city of Mexico City via Aeromexico. This is our second nonstop to Mexico (after Cancun) and a vital link to the Mexican capital and largest Aeromexico hub. More in this week’s blog.
This has been a great month to expand international service out of our hometown international airport, with three new destinations on two continents. Kudos to our friends at RTA Leadership Team member RDU as they work to expand both air service and aviation infrastructure at the fastest growing airport in America.
Have a great Independence Day weekend, everyone.
Let’s get moving,
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
