Ready to Roll

The Triangle Bikeway is gearing up. 

Ready to trade a heavily trafficked morning commute for a fresh air-fueled bike ride? After years of research and preparation, the Triangle Bikeway is (finally) getting ready to roll. The 16-foot-wide multiuse path that will snake through Wake County and beyond will ultimately serve up a total 10-mile stretch—beginning at the bridge at the NC Museum of Art and curbing at Research Triangle Park. 

Already 30% complete, the Bikeway’s Phase I design is now in proposal stage as Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization plans to select the design team for the remaining 70% within the next month.* Once selected, the design and grant application should take ~12 to 18 months. Ultimately totaling three phases, the project is slated to keep rolling out expansions over the next several years, eventually connecting Raleigh,  Durham and Chapel Hill—with the aim of federal grants funding 80% of the cost. 

“It’s going to be globally iconic… and transformational for the region,” says CAMPO Executive Board Member Sig Hutchinson of the upcoming path. “It’s exactly the kind of thing our demographic wants to be able to get to work, turning the worst part of their day—a morning commute on I-40—into the best part of their day [while] getting some exercise outside in a beautiful corridor.”

The initial transformational concept, a joint effort by Raleigh and Durham’s metropolitan planning organizations, proposed collaborating toward the creation of a 27-mile trail. Still in the works, this partnership may take place farther down the road, beginning with Raleigh’s preliminary design phase and culminating in Durham’s commitment to see the project through.

While the final Bikeway won’t be ready to roll for four to five years, it’s no doubt paving the future for the kind of upgrades Raleighites are hungry for—and is an absolute game changer for the Triangle. So, gear up, Raleigh—it’s almost time to put the pedal to the metal.  

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