The US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study represents a detailed planning process with exhaustive research, valuable background studies, conclusions and recommendations for NCDOT to use in forming a comprehensive, consensus-based vision for the US 64-NC 49 Corridor for the next 25 years. The resulting vision will be used to influence key decisions related to design, location, access, local land use decisions, project planning and funding. The vision translates into a broad "master plan" improvement strategy for the enhancement and long-term preservation of passenger and freight mobility within the study area.

Highlights of the Study are described below:

As of the 2000 census, the population of the counties in the study area totaled over 3.5 million. Population growth in the study area has been rapid over the past few years - especially in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas - and experts expect a continued increase in population in the study area over the next 25 years. The US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study examines in detail existing population statistics, forecasted population change (through the year 2030) and population density, as well as household and employment growth, land use, economic development, and major environmental features. In terms of economic development specifically, maintaining access to business centers throughout the corridor is an important theme in the study, particularly in the counties around the Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Charlotte urban centers. All of these factors - from population growth to economic development - contribute to decisions on which alternatives will best serve North Carolina and those traveling within the study area.

Large and complex highway planning exercises often use travel demand forecasting models to help analyze the need for alternative highway investments. For the US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study, a transportation model was developed as a forecasting tool to produce reliable estimates of both the potential increases in travel demand across the study area resulting from projected population and employment growth and the potential traffic diversion effects of providing additional highway improvements along the study corridor.

The "planning horizon" for the study is the year 2030, and it can be expected that many improvements will be made to the existing highway system in the study area in that period of time. The US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study looks at small and large programmed and planned roadway improvements for the next 25 years and highlights those major projects that would result in the addition of through travel lanes to some portion of the public highway system in the study area. Compiling and presenting this information in the study provides a more informed outlook on what can be expected in terms of future improvements within the study area and how that applies to future decisions.

The US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study provides valuable background information and research on safety conditions in the study area, including crash data; potentially hazardous locations such as intersections, bridges, roadway sections, and bicycle and pedestrian areas; Interstate accidents; and highway safety "hot spots." One example of a safety improvement issue explored in the study is the substantiated theory that drivers on divided highways are likely to experience lower crash rates than drivers on undivided highways. A coordinated look at safety factors such as these as part of the vision for the US 64-NC 49 Corridor moving forward will help ensure a safer tomorrow for motorists traveling the study area.

Corridor preservation is crucial to ensuring that important roadway projects are able to follow the most desirable route with minimal capital, environmental and social costs. While a complex issue, the problem is essentially the need to prevent development within planned rights-of-way in order to protect key sections of planned corridors until construction begins, without contravening any Federal approval processes or requirements. This is an issue that local, regional, and state planning entities must work together to address.

The US 64-NC 49 Corridor Study has produced a series of valuable resources in the form of supporting documents and research papers, available for download from the Study Documents page.