Transportation · What's planned
US 64 through Apex: two new interchanges and safer crossings
The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to rebuild U.S. 64 from just west of Laura Duncan Road to U.S. 1 in Cary: six lanes, interchanges at Laura Duncan Road and Lake Pine Drive, and reduced conflict intersections to the east. The Town of Apex is budgeting its own money so sidewalks, paths and crossings fill the gaps. NCDOT's next public meeting is November 18 in Apex.
U.S. 64 is the main east-west highway through southeastern Wake County. In Apex it carries neighborhood trips to schools and stores alongside commuters from Chatham County and western Wake heading toward Raleigh. NCDOT's project, numbered U-5301 in the State Transportation Improvement Program, covers about 3.2 miles of that road, plus a companion project (U-5301A) to replace the CSX railroad bridge over the highway west of Laura Duncan Road.
Try it
Drive the corridor, stop by stop
Pick a stop along U.S. 64, west to east. Each one shows what NCDOT's recommended design does there, how much traffic that stretch carried in 2016, what NCDOT projects for 2040 if nothing is built, and the crash counts NCDOT's study found at that spot.
Traffic volumes are vehicles per day from Table 1 of NCDOT's environmental document (existing 2016; 2040 "no-build" if the road is not improved). Crash counts are from the same document's crash analysis. Artist concepts: NCDOT.
The design
Why tight diamonds
NCDOT showed three concepts at a June 2018 public meeting. A modified version of Concept 2B became the recommended alternative because, in the environmental document's words, input from the public and local governments "indicated a preference for the tight diamond interchanges." In a tight diamond, the crossing road bridges over the highway and the ramps meet it close to the bridge, so U.S. 64 traffic no longer stops at those signals.
The need
Busy now, busier later
Every segment of the corridor carried roughly 38,000 to 56,000 vehicles a day in 2016. NCDOT projects that without improvements, traffic grows more than 40 percent by 2040. Switch between the two years.
The crash pattern points at congestion. NCDOT's crash analysis found the corridor's total crash rate more than twice the statewide rate for all U.S. routes, and 65 percent of crashes were rear-end collisions, which it calls indicative of stop-and-go traffic and queuing.
Walking and biking
Apex High, and the Town's share
At NCDOT's 2018 and 2019 public meetings (235 people signed in at the first, 215 at the second), the first concern on NCDOT's list was bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, "specifically for Apex High School students crossing US 64 at Laura Duncan Road."
Here is the catch: NCDOT rebuilds the sidewalks that exist today, but it does not complete gaps where no sidewalk exists unless the town pays part of the cost. So the Town of Apex's Capital Improvement Plan, adopted by the Town Council with the budget on June 9, 2026, includes a $2,000,000 "US 64 Sidewalk & Enhancement Cost Share" in fiscal year 2029-30 to fund protected pedestrian facilities: sidewalks, multi-use paths and crossings. NCDOT's environmental document also commits to coordinate with Apex on bicycle and pedestrian accommodations along Laura Duncan Road, Lake Pine Drive, Old Raleigh Road and Shepherds Vineyard Drive, to be set in a municipal agreement between NCDOT and the Town.
The Town's utility fund carries a second piece: $3,850,000 to relocate Town water and sewer lines out of the way of the widening between Laura Duncan Road and the Cary line. The same project extends a water line down Laura Duncan Road and under U.S. 64, which removes the need to flush several dead-end lines to keep disinfectant levels up, and stubs out three water lines on Shepherds Vineyard Drive.
Cost and timing
$342.5 million, rail bridge first
The widening needs a longer railroad bridge, so NCDOT will replace the CSX bridge west of Laura Duncan Road under a separate contract and finish it before the highway work starts. NCDOT's estimates:
| Rail bridge (U-5301A) | Highway (U-5301) | |
|---|---|---|
| Right of way | $5,600,000 | $93,000,000 |
| Utility relocation | $110,000 | $4,400,000 |
| Construction | $32,300,000 | $207,100,000 |
| Total | $38,010,000 | $304,500,000 |
NCDOT notes estimated costs are subject to change. Combined: $342.5 million.
Weigh in
NCDOT's public meeting, November 18
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026 · 5–8 p.m.
John M. Brown Community Center, 53 Hunter St., Apex. NCDOT representatives will be there to answer questions and take comments.
Can't make it? Comment through Friday, Dec. 18, 2026: email us64-apex-cary@publicinput.com, or call 512-580-8850 and enter project code 2246.
Add the meeting to your calendarBottom line
Fewer stops, safer crossings
The state is paying to rebuild the busiest part of U.S. 64 in Apex so it moves with fewer stops and fewer of the rear-end crashes that come with them. Apex is putting its own money in so the new road also works for people on foot and on bikes, including the students crossing at Laura Duncan Road. The design is still being finished, and NCDOT says comments will be considered as the work develops, so November 18 is a good night to see the plans and ask questions.
Discussion
Comments