2035 Triangle Regional Transit Vision Plan

[KJHburg]

for those of  you who live in Raleigh or anywhere in Wake County check out the progress of the New Bern Ave Bus Rapid Transit and give your input. 

https://raleighnc.gov/events/wake-brt-virtual-open-house-0

I think this is a great plan my only thoughts on that North line it should go all the way out to North Hills and loop by Midtown Exchange down Capital or Wake Forest Road. 

[rolly]

Here's some good details on the I-540 expansion.   https://www.roadsbridges.com/north-carolina-turnpikes-complete-540-project-will-bring-triangle-expressway-full-circle

Highlights:

The entire I-540 section from Apex all the way to I-40 is under construction, and will be finished the near next (2023)!

Then in 2023 the section from I-40 to the other end of 540 will be contracted out.

[kermit]

^ dang I am depressed that this is the kind of thing that gets posted in the transit thread.

[BullDurhamer]

but hey, at least apple is coming.  

rip triangle

[KJHburg]

New Bern Ave BRT planning continues

BRT Stations are coming to New Bern Avenue - YouTube

 

[DanRNC]

They need to do more planning and studies. How long does it take to build some express bus lanes? 

[KJHburg]

Here is the Wake County transit plan for the next 20 years.

Wake-County-Transit-Plan-Update---FINAL-ADOPTED.pdf (nmcdn.io)

Bus Rapid Transit and very frequent bus service to most all employment centers in the county and RTP and the commuter rail plan. 

[nicholas]

540 construction at NC 50. 

[Reverie39]

People on the Charlotte forum were mentioning that Triangle commuter rail seems very likely now with help from the federal infrastructure bill. I haven't followed discussion on this - can someone confirm? 

[kermit]

On 1/1/2022 at 10:36 PM, Reverie39 said:

People on the Charlotte forum were mentioning that Triangle commuter rail seems very likely now with help from the federal infrastructure bill. I haven't followed discussion on this - can someone confirm? 

Quote

Next steps

Lattuca said it will come down to county commissioners in Wake, Durham and Johnston counties who will decide whether to take the project from the feasibility stage to development. And with what happened to light rail, they’re going to want to make sure all their T's are crossed before moving forward.

“This study is going to answer a lot more questions before we ever get to development,” Lattuca said. “We’re going to have a lot more meat on the bones here.”

If all goes well, the study could be done by March. If commissioners approve the project and it passes all necessary regulatory hurdles, it could break ground as early as 2025.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2021/12/28/raleigh-durham-commuter-rail-system-2022.html

There is a paywalled N+O article from early November  that talks about direct connections btw the Infrastructure bill and Triangle Commuter Rail.

The reasons why people are relatively confident that Triangle Commuter Rail could get funded through the infrastructure bill are"

• Most of the design and engineering work has already been done in previous iterations of the commuter rail and ARRA plans (so a funding application can be put together quickly)
• Local match funding is in place and available
• The tracks already exist (and are owned by the state)
• David Price is the Chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations committee (until this time next year) 
• NC is a swing state
• The bill was constructed with projects like Triangle Commuter rail in mind

https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/news/21251658/nc-ncs-sluggish-expansion-of-public-transit-needs-to-gain-steam-in-2022-it-will

Edited January 3, 2022 by kermit

[KJHburg]

Here is the New Bern Ave BRT line recommendations for land use.   Increased density along the line but even more so right outside I-440 compared to what is there now.

https://cityofraleigh0drupal.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/drupal-prod/COR22/SAPNewBernDraftRecommendationsPresentation.pdf

[rancenc]

I-40 widening project should be completed in 2024!

https://www.equipmentworld.com/better-roads/article/15290136/contractor-expects-to-complete-i40-widening-in-nc-by-2024

Edited March 25, 2022 by rancenc

[kermit]

In Chicago they have (had) the curse of the Billy Goat, this one makes more sense to me:

Edited April 3, 2022 by kermit

[DownEast]

That Billy Goat has long been a thorn in Coach K's side as well.

[kermit]

$157 million dollars were spent on the axed DOLRT project. Among the line items were $131 million on management and design, and $6 million on real estate.

I think it would be reasonable for GoTriangle to send Duke a bill for that amount...

https://www.rtands.com/passenger/157-million-for-nothing-officials-break-down-costs-of-failed-passenger-route-in-n-c/

Edited May 3, 2022 by kermit

[kermit]

Announcement for a $35 million federal grant for New Bern ave BRT design work today:

https://www.facebook.com/RepDavidEPrice

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by kermit

[kermit]

I believe this is a new overview website for commuter rail from GoTriangle.

https://www.readyforrailnc.com/

Current plans rote from Durham to Clayton.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article265388331.html

Quote

A new study predicts a commuter rail line in the Triangle could cost around $3 billion and take over a decade to launch. The route extending up to 43 miles would have a start date between 2033 and 2035 and provide 12,000 to 18,000 trips per day by 2040, GoTriangle leaders told the Durham County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

10+ years to start running commuter trains ON EXISTING ROW, OWNED BY THE STATE, WHERE DAILY PASSENGER RAIL ALREADY RUNS, is just redonculous.

(we are essentially talking about adding another track, a service/storage facility and a few small stations. This is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE)

Edited September 8, 2022 by kermit

[kermit]

The estimated cost of Durham-Garner commuter rail has swelled by an additional $1 billion (to $3 million). Folks are getting cold feet and invoking the DOLRT disaster.

I don't really see how costs can reach this level when running on existing tracks on a state owned railroad but...

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2022/12/05/triangle-commuter-rail-raleigh-durham-costs-plant.html

Just build the damn system. The Triangle is going to choke on traffic, these costs are nothing in comparison to the expense of the no-build option.

[jthomas]

17 hours ago, kermit said:

The estimated cost of Durham-Garner commuter rail has swelled by an additional $1 billion (to $3 million). Folks are getting cold feet and invoking the DOLRT disaster.

I don't really see how costs can reach this level when running on existing tracks on a state owned railroad but...

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2022/12/05/triangle-commuter-rail-raleigh-durham-costs-plant.html

Just build the damn system. The Triangle is going to choke on traffic, these costs are nothing in comparison to the expense of the no-build option.

This is depressing, frankly. I would love to read more details about just what the $3B would include. As you said, it shouldn't be this hard to run trains on existing tracks that the state owns.

The article mentioned that "freight railroad demands" were one of the reasons for the ballooning costs. As I see it, Norfolk Southern has proven itself to be a bad faith actor in all things pertaining to passenger railroading (of course, this is par for the course for the Class Is). IMO, the state should explore all options for breaking the lease of the NCRR to NS at the next renewal period in 2029, if not sooner. If this is not possible, then rail advocates need to circle 2044 (when the current NCRR lease agreement reaches the end of its final option period) as the date to tell NS to pound sand and remove the albatross that stymies passenger rail expansion in this state.

[Reverie39]

NS is also the one holding back Charlotte commuter rail too right? Getting absolutely sick of this. Seriously affecting NC infrastructure.

[Hushpuppy321]

Commuter Rail Plans in doubt/question due to Freight Rail Intransigence….?  We should be renamed from ‘The Good Roads State’ to “The Only Roads State”.  

[kermit]

The Southern Corridor BRT project will be recommended to receive $77 million in an SSGA from FTA.

[KJHburg]

from Go Raleigh transit about the Federal grant:

""Second Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Receives Federal Funding

The City of Raleigh is also pleased to announce the Wake Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Southern Corridor project received $85.91 million in funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on March 9, 2023. Funding is provided through the FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program. A total of $8.13 million is funded from FY23 and Prior Years allocation and $77.78 million is recommended through FY24 President’s Budget Proposal. Projects accepted into the CIG Program must go through a multi-year, multi-step process to be eligible for consideration to receive program funds.

This allocation is a key step in the process of bringing BRT to the community. The City of Raleigh will continue advancing design for the Wake BRT Southern Corridor project including coordination with the FTA to demonstrate readiness to receive a construction grant agreement under the CIG Program. The Southern Corridor will complete 30 percent design in the Summer of 2023.

BRT is a high-capacity bus-based transit system that delivers fast and efficient service that may include dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms and enhanced stations. 

The City of Raleigh is grateful for support from our community partners including the Wake County Transit Planning Advisory Committee, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and GoTriangle, along with our Congressional leaders, the Wake County Board of Commissioners and Raleigh City Councilmembers.  ""

and this:

""Rating Marks Crucial Step in Project Implementation

The City of Raleigh is pleased to announce the Wake Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Southern Corridor project has received an overall "Medium-High" rating from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The ratings information was released by the FTA through the Annual Report on Funding Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2024.

The City of Raleigh submitted the BRT: Southern Corridor project to be rated in the FTA Small Smarts program in August of 2022. GoRaleigh proposes to implement BRT along South Wilmington Street connecting the Raleigh central business district with the Town of Garner and North South Station at Garner Station Boulevard. The project includes construction of about 3.8 miles of new dedicated transit infrastructure improvements between the GoRaleigh main station in downtown Raleigh and North South Station at Garner Station Boulevard, and about 1.3-miles of service in general traffic lanes between Garner Station Boulevard and the Walmart Supercenter at Rupert Road. The project also includes traffic signal priority at intersections throughout the 5.1-mile corridor and nine weather-protected BRT stations. All BRT stations will be designed to include specific branding, level boarding platforms, real-time bus arrival information, schedule and route information and universal ADA accessibility.  ""

 

[Hushpuppy321]

Wow - looks like Charlotte needs to jump on the BRT bandwagon (dedicated Busways, Signal Prioritization, Weather Proof Stations, Level Boarding, Etc.) while the planned Silver Line LRT chills on NCGA Ice…

[KJHburg]

22 hours ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

Wow - looks like Charlotte needs to jump on the BRT bandwagon (dedicated Busways, Signal Prioritization, Weather Proof Stations, Level Boarding, Etc.) while the planned Silver Line LRT chills on NCGA Ice…

I have said repeatedly Charlotte needs to do some BRT routes like Raleigh.  Mark my words Raleigh will build out all 4 lines before we have a Silver Line train moving in Charlotte.

https://raleighnc.gov/bus-rapid-transit

New Bern corridor is getting ready to start construction.   Summer 2025 completion   Plus they all connect in the under construction now new Bus Transit Center that will have a 32 story apartment building next to it.  Next to their Amtrak Union Station.  

pretty sure south to Garner is next one to start after the New Bern line (east)

Planning is going on for all o f them now.