Toll addition to Capital Boulevard floated as way to fund improvements to busy Raleigh road

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The City of Raleigh is looking to improve road conditions on Capital Boulevard, but could hit a roadblock when it comes to funding.

One idea that has been floated to get the money in place is putting a toll road on the major roadway.

On January 17, NCDOT received a formal request from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) to study the potential use of tolling on Capital Boulevard/U.S. 1 to accelerate the project of converting the road to a freeway between I-540 in Raleigh and Wake Forest, including widening the road to 6-8 lanes.

NCDOT is now evaluating next steps in the process but has not advocated for a particular path forward.

NCDOT said the NC Turnpike Authority will likely need to be involved in the process since tolling has been put forward as a possible feature.

Turning the road into a fully tolled expressway would likely require legislative changes. Adding tolled express lanes would likely not require legislative changes.

NCDOT has not released a timeline on how long all of this will take.

This recent proposal comes as a portion of Capital Boulevard is already being widened.

Transportation officials believe it will solve problems by reducing accidents and cutting down on commute times. They say this is needed to keep up with growth.

The project will cost nearly $750 million. The groundbreaking is not expected until 2025 for the first phase of the project.