The N.C. Department of Transportation will unveil next month an updated list of highway projects in their 10 year transportation plan. The plan includes the years 2018 through 2027.
Several Johnston County projects are expected to be on the new list.
They include upgrading US 70 to freeway standards from the west end of the US 70 Bypass in Clayton to the Johnston-Wayne County line in Princeton by eliminating at-grade intersections and driveway connections, which will improve traffic flow and safety.
A second project would upgrade aviation facilities at the Johnston County Airport including the construction of a new T-hanger area and apron. The $3.6 million project is tentatively scheduled for 2027.
$8,820,000 to make improvements on Highway 42 from Buffalo Road to the Wilson County line. The work includes widening lanes, improving shoulders, passing lanes and turn lanes and improvements at intersections. The work is scheduled in 2026.
$5,085,000 to extend Kellie Drive from Booker Dairy Road to Buffalo Road in Smithfield along a new 2 lane roadway. The work is planned for 2021.
$590,000 to add turn lanes on Highway 210 at Black Creek Road in Smithfield. The work is scheduled in 2021.
The projects are being paid for under the state’s Strategic Transportation Investments law, which allows the department to use data and local input to fund transportation projects at three levels: statewide, regionally and locally (also referred to as being at the division level.
After the draft 10-year plan is released in January 2017, a public comment period will be held and before the final plan is adopted by the NC Board of Transportation in June 2017.
The department’s 10-year plan is updated every two years using this process. Projects scheduled into the first five years of the plan are considered committed and will not be reevaluated, but projects in the final five years of each 10-year plan will be prioritized again for inclusion in the next plan.
