North Carolina Construction News staff writer
The expected construction cost of widening Raleigh’s Six Forks Road and adding a pedestrian path, has jumped to $93.5 million, a sharp increase from the $56.1 million estimate provided this time last year. This 67% hike is being attributed to escalating construction costs and the rising real estate market, according to Kenneth Ritchie, the city’s assistant transportation director, who presented the new costs to the City Council last week.
Project design started in the spring of 2020 with a budget of $31.3 million. However, with significant increases in real estate and construction costs since 2020, the new budget for the proposed project was $119.0 million. The city’s current funding resources could not address this large funding gap.
On Feb. 20, 2024, the City Council voted to reduce the scope of the project to a six-lane divided roadway with an 8-foot multi-use path on both sides from Rowan Street to Millbrook Road.
Since that plan was approved, the expected cost has almost doubled.
Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton expressed frustration during the meeting, stating, “I don’t see a lot of room to reduce this project anymore. We already cut off segments. We’re doing the bare minimum on the multimodal infrastructure. I’m just shocked that after we did all that work to get it within budget, it’s doubled in the past year.”
This project is part of Raleigh’s broader $206.7 million transportation bond, which includes improvements to more than a dozen roads.
City staff was directed to present further options for the project to the City Council in May.