Commuter rail will be coming to the Triangle sooner because of the massive federal infrastructure spending bill, elected officials said Monday at Union Station in downtown Raleigh. That’s one of many projects that North Carolinians will see on a faster track because of the bill President Joe Biden is expected to soon sign into law. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over the weekend with bipartisan support, delivering a political win to the Biden administration and other Democrats. For millions of Americans, it means money for bridges, roads, airports, trains, water systems and broadband internet expansion. The passage of the bill means nearly $9 billion for North Carolina over the next five years, The News & Observer previously reported.
Rep. Deborah Ross and Rep. David Price were joined by other Democratic state and local elected officials to tout the passage of the bill they described as a “once in a generation” investment. Price said that the bill will “accelerate” funding that would otherwise not be available for years. He said the projects that would get the money in North Carolina are already “shovel ready.”
“The only question is how fast we can do it, how much we can accelerate it. So the jobs impact will be very visible I think, in very short order,” Price said.
Money coming to the state will pay for bridges, highways, broadband internet expansion and water improvements. N.C. Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said the state will work with the local metropolitan planning organizations, known as MPOs, in planning projects. Ross, who represents Wake County, said the bill brings “America’s aging infrastructure finally into the 21st century.” She said that while Wake is fast-growing, “sadly, our infrastructure has not grown with our community.”
TRIANGLE COMMUTER RAIL
Raleigh City Council member Corey Branch said that the “spine of the Triangle’s transit network will be the greater Triangle commuter rail line which will stop here at Union Station as it travels between West Durham, Garner and Clayton.” GoTriangle and GoRaleigh’s bus rapid transit, or BRT, system will connect commuter rail and communities, Branch said. “We are committed to improving the transit system we have,” and the legislation will modernize the nation’s transit network, he said.
Commuter rail is in the feasibility study phase, which will be finished in February or March, Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson said. Then Durham and Wake leaders will begin the process of applying for federal funding.
After that, there will be another two years of design work, he said, and if it stays on schedule, commuter rail could open in 2030.
Station numbers and locations have not yet been approved for a project that leaders expect to both ease car congestion between Durham and Clayton as well as be an economic development driver. Plans call for a commuter rail line along the North Carolina Railroad Co. corridor that could run up to 43 miles, with potential stops at N.C. State University, Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park and in downtown Durham. A previous Triangle mass transit project, the Durham-Orange light-rail transit project, faced several hurdles and was eventually derailed in March 2019 by Duke University. That project did not include Raleigh.