This busy Wake road is getting busier. Here’s what NCDOT proposes to do about it.
About a year and a half from now, a new highway interchange is expected to open on Old Stage Road south of Garner, connecting what is now a two-lane country road with the six-lane Triangle Expressway.
To help handle traffic coming on and off the highway, the N.C. Department of Transportation is working on two projects that would add lanes to Old Stage Road.
The first could add an extra northbound lane to Old Stage from the new N.C. 540 interchange north to just beyond Ten Ten Road. NCDOT would also build a right-turn lane on eastbound Ten Ten onto Old Stage and potentially a new turn lane and sidewalks in front of Vance Elementary School.
The second project would widen Old Stage to four lanes south of the 540 interchange as far as Rock Service Station Road. There, the intersection would be overhauled and a traffic light installed, to try to reduce backups and the risk of crashes.
Old Stage Road is already getting crowded, as more homes are built in southern Wake County. The opening of the N.C. 540 interchange will only bring more traffic, said Zahid Baloch, NCDOT’s project manager for the Old Stage and Rock Service Station Road project.
“Because of 540, this road will be a very busy road,” Baloch said. “And we are hoping to somewhat give some relief to that area by widening that road to four lanes with a median and improving the intersection at Rock Service Station Road.”
NCDOT will hold a public meeting Thursday to present plans for the second project in detail and answer questions. It will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at Holland’s United Methodist Church at 9433 Ten Ten Road.
Old Stage is one of five interchanges along an 18-mile section of N.C. 540 being built across southern Wake County. The new section of highway will extend the toll road that now ends at N.C. 55 in Holly Springs, connecting it with Interstate 40 near the Johnston County line.
NCDOT doesn’t plan to begin widening Old Stage Road south of the interchange until the spring of 2025, about a year after the interchange opens. The wider road, which will include a five-foot sidewalk on one side and a 10-foot multi-use path on the other, will require the state to buy right-of-way, which it expects to begin doing next summer.
“There will be some impacts to property owners,” Baloch said. “But we’re hoping they would understand because of the growth in this area and that this project will help them see some sort of relief from the traffic.”
The public can learn more about the Old Stage and Rock Service Station Road project and leave a comment at publicinput.com/OldStage-RockServiceSta. NCDOT will be accepting comments through Dec. 16.
The public can learn about the Old Stage and Ten Ten Road project and leave a comment at ncdot.publicinput.com/U5724. NCDOT is considering two options — one with a new northbound lane and one without. The comment period for that project closes Dec. 2.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 10:49 AM with the headline "This busy Wake road is getting busier. Here’s what NCDOT proposes to do about it.."
