In an effort to respond to recent questions and comments from citizens regarding the U.S. 64 Corridor Study, the N.C. Department of Transportation, in partnership with the towns of Cary, Apex and Pittsboro, Wake and Chatham counties and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, will hold a community meeting on Thursday, July 16.

The meeting will focus primarily on the section of U.S. 64 from U.S. 1 in Cary to the Chatham County line. It will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Green Hope High School, 2500 Carpenter Upchurch Road, Cary.

Doors will open at 6 p.m., followed by a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m. The public will then have the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments to the U.S. 64 Corridor Study Team members.

The U.S. 64 Corridor Study Team is developing a master plan to preserve and enhance mobility and safety along U.S. 64, while balancing community access and interests. It will be used to guide development and improvements along the corridor from U.S. 1 in Cary to U.S. 64 Business in Pittsboro.

The master plan includes two distinct components, a short-term plan and a 30-year long-term plan:

nThe short-term plan consists of interim strategies to improve mobility, safety and pedestrian access at major intersections. It proposes to create a “superstreet” that would restrict through traffic and left turns from cross streets. These movements would be accommodated at nearby U-turn locations.

The long-term plan consists of improvements needed to serve the anticipated amount of traffic in the year 2035 and later. It proposes to convert many of the major intersections to interchanges or overpasses.

Currently, the proposed improvements in the short-term plan and the 30-year long-term plan are not funded.

Additional information on the study is available at www.ncdot.gov/~us64study.Citizens can send comments to David Wasserman of NCDOT’s Strategic Planning Office at (919) 715-1273, via fax at (919) 715-2858 or via e-mail at dswasserman@ncdot.gov.