NCDOT's plan to make I-540 commutes faster? $2.5M worth of ramp signals
(Triangle Business Journal, April 6, 2017)
As the N.C. Department of Transportation continues to plan I-540 improvements, a lane closure this weekend offers insight into what’s to come. The state is spending about $2.5 million to bring four metered signals to westbound I-540 ramps.
On-ramp signals, also referred to as ramp meters, are described as stop-and-go lights. The goal is more reliable travel times and a reduction in crashes, according to NCDOT.
Signal installation is just one of the projects planned for I-540, which will soon host a driverless vehicle pilot program. The state recently opened the Veridea Parkway interchange to traffic and is in the design stages of planning another interchange at Morrisville Parkway.
But it all pales in comparison to a project that’s been repeatedly called priority one by the Regional Transportation Alliance business coalition: the $2.2 billion “Complete 540” project.
The latest NCDOT schedule doesn’t have the project moving forward for another three years, but that hasn’t stopped groups such as RTA from campaigning for an acceleration of the timetable. The current North Carolina Transportation Plan is in draft form, and RTA Director Joe Milazzo said Thursday in an email his team plans to be active in the public comment process.