Holly Springs is one of the fastest growing communities in the state and has become a draw for homeowners and businesses. The area also is popular with developers, with nearby access to significant transportation corridors, such as I-40, U.S. 1, U.S. 64, N.C. 55 and the Triangle Expressway.
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) opened the Triangle Expressway, also known as Toll NC 540, in 2012 to improve mobility, accessibility and connectivity between western Wake County and Research Triangle Park, while also reducing congestion on the existing north-south routes. Motorists in the Holly Springs and southern Apex area soon will benefit from an NCTA project that is underway to add a new interchange to the Expressway at the existing Old Holly Springs-Apex Road overpass bridge.
NCTA’s $18.4 million construction project also converts the existing Expressway roadway shoulders into 1.5 miles of auxiliary lanes between the U.S. 1 interchange and Old Holly Springs-Apex Road and between the new interchange and the current N.C. 55 Bypass terminus of the Expressway. The anticipated significant growth in the area over the next two decades is an impetus for the additional interchange.
How significant is the expected growth? The traffic volume on Old Holly Springs-Apex Road in 2010 was 1,900 vehicles per day. That number is projected to increase more than 18 times to nearly 35,000 vehicles per day by 2035. The new interchange will give motorists direct access to the Expressway, and in turn a faster connection to U.S. 1, Research Triangle Park, I-40 and points beyond.
“We estimate that some Expressway users will experience one-way travel savings of up to 5.5 miles by making use of the new interchange,” says Beau Memory, Executive Director of NCTA. “Motorists using the Expressway will also reap safety benefits from the auxiliary lanes that provide additional length for merges and eliminates some merge movements altogether.”
NCTA evaluated five interchange configurations for the new interchange. The final choice is a partial cloverleaf design, with the ramps and loops placed east of Old Holly Springs-Apex Road. This alternative maximized the spacing between interchanges by placing the ramps the greatest distance from the adjacent N.C. 55 Bypass interchange. The partial cloverleaf design also avoids impacts to an adjacent communications tower as well as the nearby Highway 55 C&D Landfill, and did not require Old Holly Springs-Apex Road to be relocated.
The existing bridge on Old Holly Springs-Apex Road is being widened and will have space for bike lanes and sidewalks, although the roadway along Old Holly Springs-Apex Road will be built at a later date. No residential or business relocations were needed for the project and the required preconstruction environmental study determined there are no adverse effects to federally protected plant and animal species, historic properties, air quality, or from traffic noise.
The project uses a design-build format, which teams together a prime contractor and a lead designer to provide the design and construction services for the project. The design consultant for this project is Kimley-Horn and the prime contractor is Blythe Construction. There are also more than two dozen subcontractors who are providing various specialty services to the project, such as tolling infrastructure, walls, guardrail, and asphalt and concrete paving.
Two new overhead toll gantries are being installed, one on each of the loops, and two existing gantries are being modified as part of the project. Toll gantries are structures that span the roadway and hold the equipment that electronically reads account information from transponders or takes pictures of vehicles for motorists choosing the Bill-By-Mail option. The two mainline gantries are being modified to accommodate the new auxiliary lanes. NCTA was the first agency to open its first project using All-Electronic Tolling technology.
Additionally, a portion of Old Holly Springs-Apex Road is being renamed. The Apex Town Council voted in November 2016 to rename a portion of Old Holly Springs-Apex Road to Veridea Parkway, effective in January 2017. The name change applies to the segment between Tingen Road and the Triangle Expressway. NCTA coordinated with the town to ensure the interchange signage on the Expressway will reflect the new name.
“The current schedule, weather dependent, is to open the new ramps and loops in early 2017, with the bridge widening and associated work on Old Holly Springs-Apex Road to wrap up by the middle of 2017, said Memory. “The North Carolina Turnpike Authority is entering the final phases to bring this interchange online, and we are excited about the benefits in convenience and travel time savings that motorists will realize from this addition to the Expressway.”
More information on the Triangle Expressway can be found at the following link: ncdot.gov/projects/triangleexpressway/. Anyone wishing to open an account with NCTA can contact the Customer Service Center at 1-877-7MY-PASS (1-877-769-7277), in person at 200 Sorrell Grove Church Road, Suite A, Morrisville, or online at ncquickpass.com.
