North Carolina Construction News staff writer
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) is hosting both virtual and in-person public meetings for the ongoing US 70 Corridor Study.
Meetings will be held:
- 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – virtual
- 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – virtual
- 17 from 11 a.m. to noon – in-person meeting
Visit the project website to find out more about the study, register for a meeting, and complete a short survey about the future of the corridor. The survey is open through Jan. 6, 2023.
The US 70 East Corridor Study will provide a framework for a “safe, efficient and equitable” multimodal transportation system accommodating public transit, pedestrian and bicycle use along with motor vehicle traffic.
U.S. 70 is one of the primary east-west corridors across eastern North Carolina. It is a major connection between Raleigh, Smithfield, Goldsboro, Kinston, Havelock and the Port of Morehead City.
The corridor is heavily used for moving freight and is just a few miles south of the North Carolina Global TransPark. It also provides connections to two military bases just off the highway and is a major hurricane evacuation route. Traffic volumes vary along the corridor but are highest around Clayton and Goldsboro.
In 2016, the N.C. Department of Transportation received conditional approval from the American Association of State and Transportation Officials to designate U.S. 70 between Raleigh and Morehead City as the future Interstate 42.
The route must be upgraded to interstate standards and the Federal Highway Administration granted NCDOT approval to designate a 10-mile segment of U.S. 70 in Johnston County and a 22-mile segment of U.S. 70 in Wayne and Lenoir counties as Interstate 42, because they meet interstate standards.
Several highway improvement projects along the corridor are either being studied, in development, or under construction.