After ballooning costs, Raleigh scraps years-long plan for Six Forks Road
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh cancels Six Forks Road expansion after decade of planning and $9M spent.
- Cost projections surged from $31M to $93.5M, driven by construction and land price hikes.
- City redirects funds to sidewalk gaps and pedestrian safety near Carroll Middle School.
After a decade of work and already spending over $9 million, the city of Raleigh will no longer expand part of Six Forks Road.
Voters approved a 2017 transportation bond that among other projects included widening two miles of Six Forks Road, which travels past North Hills in Raleigh, and adding bicycle lanes. The project has been running over budget, leaving the city unsure how to pay for it.
“There really is no feasible way for us to deliver on the original vision and, really, the original intent of the Six Forks Road corridor, and certainly this project,” Kenneth Ritchie, the city’s assistant transportation director, said Tuesday.
Instead, the City Council decided Tuesday to use the money budgeted for this project to fill about 500 feet of missing sidewalk near Carroll Middle School and add intersection and pedestrian crossing safety improvements to the area. Any remaining funds will go to other projects that have been scaled down due to escalating cost.
“Unfortunately, the math is the math,” said City Council member Corey Branch. “And we just don’t have the dollars.”
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to reallocate the money.
Six Forks timeline
The Six Forks Road project had been over a decade in the making.
A study of the street in 2012 led to recommendations in 2016. The City Council sought additional public engagement in 2017 and voted on a plan in 2018.
The original cost of expanding Six Forks Road from Rowan Street to Lynn Road, about two miles, and add separated bicycle and pedestrian paths was estimated to cost $31.3 million. The project also called for improving street lighting, landscaping, stormwater and transit stops. The funding came from 2013 and 2017 transportation bonds.
Design work began in 2020, and the city quickly found real estate easements and construction costs were much higher than expected. The News & Observer reported in 2023 that the project was running $56 million over budget.
City leaders agreed to scale back the project to only one mile of road between Rowan Street and Millbrook Road, , nearest North Hills, and add a combined path for bikes and pedestrians. That cost was estimated at $56.1 million.
Earlier this year, city leaders were told the project was, once again, over budget. It would now cost $93.5 million, or a 67% increase, due to “growing construction costs and the real estate market,” The N&O previously reported.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM with the headline "After ballooning costs, Raleigh scraps years-long plan for Six Forks Road."
