Raleigh leaders vote to scrap Six Forks Road widening

The assistant director of Raleigh's transportation department told city council members the cost to widen Six Forks Road from Rowan Street to Millbrook Road had grown from $56.1 million to $93.5 million, a 67% increase.
Posted 7/1/2025, 11:37:11 PM Updated 7/2/2025, 12:58:08 AM

FIREWORKS ARE SCHEDULED TO GO

OFF TONIGHT AT 9.15, AND

EVERYTHING IS GOING ON AS

PLANNED. ALL RIGHT, BRIAN,

THANK YOU. SO DRIVERS NEAR 6

FORKS ROAD RIGHT NEAR NORTH

HILLS IN RALEIGH SAID THAT THEY

ARE BRACING FOR SOME INCREASED

TRAFFIC. THIS COMES AFTER

RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL SCRAPPED

PLANS TO WIDEN.

>> PARTS OF THE BUSY CORRIDOR

THERE WHICH ARE KNOWN FOR ITS

NARROW LANES. WRAL'S FLYNN

SNYDER EXPLAINS WHY THE CITY'S

MAYOR THINKS THIS COULD SPELL

BAD NEWS FOR SOME FUTURE

PROJECTS.

FROM ROUGHLY 56 MILLION DOLLARS

TO A STAGGERING 93 MILLION

DOLLARS. RALEIGH'S LEADERS SAY

THE COST TO WIDEN PARTS OF 6

FORKS ROAD FROM MILLBROOK ROAD

TO ROWAN STREET HAS GROWN TOO

HIGH MARKET.

>> FORCES HAVE CONTINUED TO

CHALLENGE THIS PROJECT. THE

RISING COSTS FOR CITY COUNCIL

MEMBERS TO SCRAP WIDENING PLANS

JUST LIKE THE OLD SAYING TO ME

THAT DIED TODAY IN THE PUBLIC.

>> LET'S DO THIS VERY SERIOUS

BLOW BY THE CITY. LARRY HELFANT

SAYS HE LIVES NEAR THE IMPACT

OF PORTIONS OF 6 FORKS ROAD

HE WORRIES THAT WITHOUT THE

WIDENING TRAFFIC ALONG THE BUSY

CORRIDOR WILL WORSEN AS

BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO DEVELOP.

NORTH HILLS CONTINUES TO GROW

AND BUSINESSES ALONG 6 FORKS

WANT TO GROW. TRAFFIC WILL

CONTINUE TO GET WORSE. INSTEAD,

COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED TO USE

THE PROJECT'S BUDGET FOR

SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS NEAR

CARROLL MIDDLE SCHOOL, ANOTHER

INTERSECTION UPGRADES ALONG

6 FORKS THE REMAINING MONEY

WOULD POSSIBLY PAY FOR

IMPROVEMENTS ON THESE ROADS AND

OTHER TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

INSIDE CHAMBERS. RALEIGH'S

MAYOR SAID THE RISING COST OF

LAND NEEDED FOR WIDENING

CONSTRUCTION COULD MAKE SIMILAR

PROJECTS LIKE THE CAPITAL

BOULEVARD FREEWAY CONVERSION

WERE CHALLENGING. THIS IS THE

FIRST PROJECT IN HIS 40 YEAR

CAREER WHERE HE HAS SEEN THE

LAND COST 2 AND A HALF TIMES

THE ROAD. IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE

FOR US TO MOVE CURBS AND THE

FUTURE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS

VOICING FRUSTRATION OVER THE

PROJECT THAT'S BEEN IN THE

WORKS SINCE 2012. I WANT, YOU

KNOW.

>> THE DEAD HORSE. THIS IS VERY

DISAPPOINTING THAT THIS IN

FRONT OF US AGAIN, CITY

OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVE ALREADY

SPENT MORE THAN 9 MILLION

DOLLARS TO GET TO THIS POINT IN

THE PROJECT, WHICH NOW FACES

A MUCH SMALLER FUTURE FUN SITE

OR WRAL NEWS, RALEIGH. THE CITY

HAD ALREADY SCALED BACK THE

SCOPE OF THAT PROJECT LAST

YEAR. SOME OTHER UPGRADES NO

© WRAL