Relief coming sooner for Crabtree Mall traffic in Raleigh
(Triangle Business Journal, Friday, June 30, 2017)
A plan to construct a completely new Interstate 440 interchange with U.S. 70 near Crabtree Valley Mall in Wake County is among a handful of projects being accelerated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
As frequent drivers along Glenwood Avenue know, trekking through the mall area can add minutes to a commute from downtown Raleigh to Brier Creek or Durham. The DOT projects the current traffic levels at the I-440 ramp accessing Glenwood at up to 35,000 vehicles per day.
The latest plan calls for constructing an entirely new interchange at Ridge Road to connect with Crabtree Valley Avenue - which runs directly behind the shopping center - and alleviate some of that congestion.
Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance business coalition, said the city had identified the need years ago. The goal is providing "maximum accessibility," and not just for shoppers hoping to quicken commutes to the mall.
"This new interchange will essentially divide some of the traffic up a little bit, separating those simply accessing U.S. 70 and those wanting to access the mall," Milazzo says.
In its latest funding draft, plans for the new interchange are set to begin in 2022, as opposed to 2025 in previous versions.