Raleigh City Council Approves Agreement with NCDOT for Tryon Road Bridge Replacement

In November, the City Council approved a resolution requesting the NCDOT move the bridge replacement work on Tryon Road to a higher priority. Mayor Charles Meeker, Council Member Thomas Crowder along with City of Raleigh and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) staff held a meeting on Dec.14 with officials from NCDOT that included Secretary Gene Conti. From the meeting, NCDOT agreed to move forward with a concept for replacing the bridge, provided the City agrees to participate in the funding for the realignment of the road. It is estimated that the City's participation in the project would be approximately $1.8 million. NCDOT is prepared to begin work immediately on this project, pending an agreement in principle with the City. A full municipal agreement for the project will be developed later, allowing the City adequate time to budget and allocate the necessary funds for the project.

The City of Raleigh has previously completed several improvement projects along Tryon Road from Lake Wheeler Road to Cary through capital improvement projects totaling approximately $16 million. NCDOT has planned to replace the bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad corridor because the bridge is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. NCDOT determined that the bridge could not be replaced without a more comprehensive widening project.