NCDOT Bridge Replacement Projects
The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has announced plans to improve four bridges in Wake Forest: one on Purnell Road that spans Horse Creek, another on West Oak Avenue that crosses Richland Creek, one on Forestville Road that spans Sanford Creek, and another on Rogers Road that spans Sanford Creek. More details for these projects will be provided as they become available.
As part of Wake Forest's Capital Improvements Plan or CIP – a five-year plan for physical and economic developments– the West Oak Avenue, Forestville and Rogers Road bridges will be rebuilt to include pedestrian underpasses that extend the town's greenway system. Constructing the pedestrian underpass in conjunction with the bridge projects will save the town money in the future.
Purnell Road
Construction for this bridge was completed in Spring 2015. The Town of Wake Forest has plans to extend the Richland Creek Greenway when funding is available.
West Oak Avenue
Construction was completed in Spring 2016. The bridge includes sidewalk on the bridge's west side and a multi-use path on its east side. A pedestrian underpass will be added to provide a critical link for a future greenway project.
Forestville Road
Construction to replace the bridge on Forestville Road was completed in the Fall of 2015. The existing bridge was replaced with a two-lane bridge with sidewalk on the west side (Heritage High School side) of the structure and a pedestrian underpass to accommodate users accessing the Smith & Sanford Creek Greenway.
Rogers Road
On June 27th, contractors began replacing the existing two-lane bridge on Rogers Road with a five-lane bridge. The new bridge is expected to improve capacity and safety and relieve the bottlenecks that occur in the area during school rush hours. To reduce the amount of time to complete the project Rogers Road will be closed for construction, the Town of Wake Forest is coordinating with the NCDOT to conduct a road widening project to coincide with the bridge replacement project. Rogers Road will be widened to five lanes from the replaced bridge to the Forestville Road/Heritage Lake Road intersection, per the Transportation Plan.
Special Note - Forestville Road & Rogers Road Bridge Replacements
Due to the town's request to widen Rogers Road during the bridge replacement project, NCDOT swapped the construction dates for the Rogers Road and Forestville Road bridge replacements (originally announced during the NCDOT Citizen Informational Workshop on March 25, 2013) to accommodate right-of-way acquisition and design/coordination. The Forestville Road bridge construction project (now scheduled for 2015) and the Rogers Road bridge construction project (now set for 2016) will each require road closures and traffic detours in the vicinity of the bridges for approximately five months. NCDOT made the decision to close Rogers Road completely (instead of building the bridge in stages over 12 months) after consulting with the principals of the three public schools in the area and the Wake County School System bus coordinator.
The Town of Wake Forest has launched an interactive map on its website that provides useful information about transportation projects in our area. The map highlights projects that have active construction sites, are in the process of being designed or permitted, and/or are currently funded for future design/construction.