New bus routes begin to ease Fortify delays on I-40

Four new express bus routes will begin serving southern Wake County Monday to help combat delays associated with Fortify - the state's multimillion-dollar project to rebuild an 11.5-mile stretch of Interstates 40 and 440.

Posted 7:27 p.m. Jan 9, 2015 — Updated 11:55 a.m. Jan 12, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — Four new express bus routes will begin serving southern Wake County on Monday to help combat delays associated with Fortify – the state's multimillion-dollar project to rebuild an 11.5-mile stretch of Interstates 40 and 440.

Triangle Transit will operate the bus routes, which take people from Cary to downtown Raleigh, south Cary to Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina to Raleigh and Clayton to Raleigh.

New bus routes kicking off Jan. 12 are:

Cary to Downtown Raleigh (Route 300X): Weekday express service every 30 minutes between the Cary Train Station and downtown Raleigh from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.
South Cary to Raleigh (CTX): Weekday express service every 30 minutes between the Park-and-Ride lot at Wellington Park Shopping Center in South Cary, NC State University and downtown Raleigh from 6:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Fuquay-Varina to Raleigh (FRX): Weekday express service every 30 minutes between two Park-and-Ride lots in the Town of Fuquay-Varina and downtown Raleigh. The Park-and-Ride lots are located at South Park and the Food Lion off of Hilltop Needmore Road. Service will run from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Clayton to Raleigh (CLX): Weekday express service every 30 minutes from 6:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. between the Park-and-Ride lot at the Dollar Tree in Clayton off of Town Centre Boulevard and the Park-and-Ride lot at the White Oak Shopping Center and downtown Raleigh.

Drivers on I-40 will notice increased Fortify activity in the coming weeks as crews shift their focus from I-440 to the bigger, more labor intensive portion of the rebuild.The I-440 section likely will be completed by the end of January.

Barrier walls are now in place on I-40 between Gorman Street and the U.S. Highway 1 intersection to protect crews. Barrier walls restrict access to shoulders. North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said driver should use extra caution traveling along the south side of Raleigh on I-40.

“You're going see lanes begin to shift, and when the shift starts, the traffic impacts will as well,” DOT spokesman Mike Charbonneau said in December. “Drivers will notice that, but it's going to be a continual process until they get the pattern in place.”

The new traffic pattern will remain until the project is done in 2016.

Charbonneau said the early part of the project may not cause huge backups at first, but that doesn’t mean the smooth sailing will continue.

“Don't let your guard down,” he said. “Don't let what you see at the beginning of January make you think that's all you're going to experience with the project.”

NCDOT wants to get 30,000 vehicles off I-40 every day to minimize congestion through the work zone. They are encouraging drivers who use the road to consider shifting their work schedules, telecommuting or using public transit.

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