from NCDOT
RALEIGH – A safe route for pedestrians crossing Trinity Road in Raleigh between parking lots for N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium and the State Fairgrounds is on its way. The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to build a pedestrian tunnel under the roadway slightly east of Youth Center Drive.
Work can begin as early as March 1 on the $4.3 million project awarded Crowder Construction Company of Charlotte.
Although the contract calls for the tunnel to be ready for pedestrians by Sept. 15, there is a financial incentive for the contractor to have it ready one month earlier. N.C. State has home football games the first three Saturdays in September.
The tunnel will also provide a safe crossing for attendees to the state fair in October, when thousands of vehicles are parked on the stadium side of Trinity Road.
The project allows for the closure of Trinity Road between March 1 and August 1 as the tunnel is being built, although the contractor can also earn an incentive bonus for every day earlier than August 1 the road re-opens.
A detour route will send vehicles onto Edwards Mill Road, Wade Avenue and Blue Ridge Road to get around the work zone. Access to the stadium and fairgrounds parking lots off Trinity Road during the closure will remain open through other entrances.
This was one of 16 road and bridge contracts recently awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation. Per state law they went to the lowest qualified bidder for each project. The contracts are worth $138.6 million, $1.8 million under engineer estimates.