New High Speed Rail Alignment (NC5) Through Downtown Raleigh Addresses Earlier Concerns

Following a public hearing last September, the City Council requested NCDOT to formally study the feasibility of NC4 and/or develop other alignments to minimize the issues raised by residents and businesses.

For more background on this topic see the links at the end of this post.

Responding to the request from City Council, NCDOT developed a new alignment called NC5 that pushes the Capital Boulevard crossing about 4 blocks further north than what had been proposed under the NC4 alignment, as seen in this photo.

 

 

Advantages

1. This time the new tracks are fully separate from the Norfolk Southern tracks, which was necessary to gain the support of Norfolk Southern that was consulted throughout the design process.
2. The location of the rail crossing over Capital Boulevard means that fewer homes and businesses north of Peace Street are affected as compared to the NC3 alignment.  Additionally, Fairview Road would not be closed, and the new high speed rail tracks would be laid east of the current freight tracks and further away from existing homes.
3. This route avoids the concerns expressed by Downtown residents over the required road closures under the NC1&2 alignment, and also avoids the need for new elevated tracks crossing over an important future redevelopment area in Glenwood South.

1. Although fewer homes would be affected, there may be continued concerns about noise and vibration from a 4 block area of homes immediately adjacent to the existing freight tracks in the Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood.
2. Using separate tracks is a missed opportunity for opening up pedestrian movement within a 4-block area between Peace Street and North Street, where earth berms holding up the Norfolk Southern tracks block potential beautification of the area.
3. The NC5 crossing over Capital Boulevard would require a 700 foot long bridge over six lanes of traffic, which will likely have a higher price tag, even with the lower right- of-way expenses.

Next Steps

• NCDOT is holding a public comment session on September 27th at the Civic Center, and they will be hosting a table at the Capital Boulevard Corridor Open House on the 29th.
• Although not required as part of the SEHSR Project Environment Impact Study (EIS), the mayor is likely to ask the City Council for a formal recommendation on the high speed rail alignment based on this new information from NCDOT.
• Once the EIS process is complete, it is expected to take several more years to secure Federal funding and complete construction, with 2018-2022 as the goal for passenger service to begin.

Conclusion: This alternative appears to go a long way towards addressing many of the concerns that were raised in public hearings last summer.  The NC5 still presents some proximity issues to Mordecai and impacts businesses along West Street, but clearly efforts are being made by the NCDOT to listen to what residents and businesses prefer.  The DLA is also grateful to the City Council that has taken additional time to weigh what is best for Raleigh’s future. 

Here are some past and recent articles on this topic for further reading:

• DLA blog post from September last year
• Recent Raleigh Connoisseur blog post
• Recent N&O article
• Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor website
• Google overlay map showing NC 5 route [just added]