Update on Falls of Neuse (Raleigh, Durham: 2013, rentals, condo)

[paddle creek]

There is a meeting about the widening of Falls of Neuse on the 27th. Does anyone know where it is? I had the consultants in the shop but forgot to ask them. I am interested in knowing more about the status of the bridge.
www.paddlecreeknc.com

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by paddle creek

There is a meeting about the widening of Falls of Neuse on the 27th. Does anyone know where it is? I had the consultants in the shop but forgot to ask them. I am interested in knowing more about the status of the bridge.
Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill NC Kayak Canoe Outfitters &Neuse River Rentals

I emailed the City of Raleigh Planning Department with this question as I am interested in attending future meetings as well. Below is the Repsonse I received:

Response from City of Raleigh Planning:

"The first public workshop open house for the Falls of Neuse widening & realignment project (U-4901) is taking place this Thursday (7/26)evening starting at 5pm at Durant Middle School . I believe the public workshop for the bridge project (B-4660) will be coming up in a few weeks.

There are two projects in this area. Here is a brief description of each and their project reference number from NCDOT's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

The first project is being coordinated by the City of Raleigh, and that's the widening of Falls of Neuse Road from Raven Ridge to Fonville Road and the construction of the New Falls of Neuse Road connection across the Neuse River. This project (TIP Project U-4901) is currently proposed for construction in two phases: the new road across the river would begin construction in late 2008 and be completed by 2010. The widening portion would begin in 2011 and be completed in 2013.

The second project (TIP Project B-4660) is being handled by NCDOT, which will replace the existing bridge over the Neuse River starting in 2010. The current idea is that once our new bridge is opened, the "old" Falls of Neuse Road would be temporarily closed and the 1920's vintage bridge over the river would be removed and rebuilt in the same place."

I am curious what kind of turn-out there will be for this meeting, as I can not find any public notice about it anywhere!

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Looks Like another public meeting was held last night about the Falls of Neuse Bridge Replacement Project which is scheduled to begin in 2010. Some people are against it becasue the 10 mile detour that will be needed after the bridge is demolished will increase Emergency services response times.


newsobserver.com | Neuse detour is topic of hearing today (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/668772.html - broken link)

Residents, Firefighters Worry Over Proposed Bridge Detour :: WRAL.com

[NC man]

When that bridge is removed it will be horriable to get around out there,what a mess that will be.

[carolinatrendsetter]

Too true, there must be a way to build that bridge while still using the current one meanwhile. It affects a heck of a lot of people. They should have started doing something back when Wake Field really started growing.

[cooperwx]

It apparently did not qualify for bridge replacement funding back then. The N&O article mentions that NCDOT says keeping the bridge open while building a new one was not an option, but did not explain why.

[T.A. Walter]

Originally Posted by cooperwx

The N&O article mentions that NCDOT says keeping the bridge open while building a new one was not an option, but did not explain why.

It was an alternative that was considered and ruled out because of the availability of an acceptable detour.

In the 1980's the USACOE built the emergency spillway bridge which is immediately following the bridge over the Neuse River. Because of the location of the bridges in relation to each other both would have to be replaced if a bridge was built on a new alignment. It is just impossible to do an alignment that will only replace one bridge other than replacing the existing one in-place. The bridge over the spillway does not need replacing.

To build on a new alignment would more than triple the cost of the project.

Another thing to consider is that the old mill condo's are listed on the National Register for Historic Places. A new alignment option would more than likely be ruled an adverse affect on the property since NCDOT would have to take a good portion of the entrance and the front parking lot. The parking areas would have to be redone since the entrance would be relocated away from the bridge site.