The history — and potential — of the Capital Freeway north of I-540
- February 6, 2025
- Posted by: Joe Milazzo II
- Category: Blog
RTA’s top freeway priority, and our organization’s highest priority rapid implementation initiative, is to accelerate the construction of the US 1 / Capital Freeway.
Fortunately, NCDOT has an excellent plan to upgrade the existing US 1 / Capital Boulevard roadway to a multimodal freeway between I-540 and the Wake/Franklin county line.
As we have noted previously, NCDOT’s plan would remove all stoplights from the roadway main lanes, while dramatically improving overall traffic flow.
Unfortunately, the money has not been there to complete this important roadway improvement for our growing region. The newest draft state TIP was just released late last month, and due to cost increases and available funds, it shows an additional 5 year delay in the construction start year, from 2026 to 2031, which pushes the realization of a multimodal freeway for Capital Boulevard further into the future.
RTI International has compiled a brief summary report for RTA of prior and current costs and schedules in the state TIP for improving Capital Boulevard to a freeway. While it will probably not be the most uplifting read you have this week given its outline of the construction delays, it is informative. One example: in the 2018 state TIP, the upgrade for most segments of the roadway was slated to begin in 2021 and conclude in the current year of 2025. Now seven years later, with the release of the draft 2026 state TIP, and the start date of the southernmost segments has shifted back 10 years, to 2031.
The ongoing delays to Capital, the importance of an upgraded roadway to commerce and quality of life in northern Wake and Franklin counties, and the opportunity for our region to dramatically accelerate the improved roadway, are the primary reasons that RTA has endorsed advancing the upgrade of US 1 north to a multimodal freeway via toll revenue, potentially with a reduced rate during off-peak periods.
We will have more to learn and say about this priority, and the opportunity to make it a rapid reality, in the coming weeks.
We will only get there in concert with our partners — and we will get there.
Let’s get moving,
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
