Elected leaders, town staff and developers broke ground on the $22-million Main Street Project, which Mayor Ronnie Currin said would benefit current and new businesses and include streetscape and transportation improvements.

“Clearly, this is going to be a fantastic project for Rolesville and for all of Wake County, and I just want to commend you on doing it, and I want to commend the local businesses who came here even before this special project and this Main Street program were launched,” Rep. Deborah Ross of North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District said during the groundbreaking ceremony. 

Currin said the project would bring more of a town-like feel to the area and draw in businesses and stores, which feel more like destinations.

“We’re really working to create a sense of place in town, ” Currin said.

The N.C. Department of Transportation approved the project bid award of $16,875,679 to the Fred Smith Co. for the Main Street Project. The effort is funded in part from the N.C. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. 

About 57% of money for the project comes from federal grants, with about 23% coming from the town. About 20% comes from Crosland Southeast, the developer of Wallbrook, an upcoming mixed-use development.

“This is some of the best use of federal funding that comes to the state through DOT with local folks deciding how it’s going to be deployed,” Ross said. “That’s exactly how it should work.”

The Main Street Project also will calm inbound traffic to make the area a safer place for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, Currin said. The revitalized Main Street will remain accessible to people with disabilities. 

“Now, it’s going to be more walkable, more customer-friendly, and it’s just such a wonderful thing,” Ross said.

Rolesville is the second-oldest municipality in Wake County and became historically established as a point in a stagecoach route, Currin said. 

Functioning more as a crossroads, Rolesville never had a strong downtown area, and the project seeks to instead bring a robust Main Street. The project has been in the works for years, a vision of late former Mayor Frank Eagles, Currin said.

“If we don’t have a downtown, can we have a Main Street?” Currin asked. “So, that’s where the Main Street idea came in is to create a Main Street rather than a downtown.”

The Main Street Project remains the largest public project the town has undertaken, Rolesville Finance Director Amy Stevens said.

“I think we’re turning a corner, and I think as the new developments come in, it’s just going to get better,” Currin said.