The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) completed preparation of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the US 64 Asheboro Bypass. The ROD was approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on December 6, 2007. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was approved in March 2007. The FEIS and ROD were prepared along the Preferred Alternative 29 corridor. Design studies to minimize impacts and design revisions to update the preliminary design of Alternative 29 to meet current NCDOT design criteria are complete.

The next step is to hold the Design Public Hearing. The Design Public Hearing maps for Alternative 29 are complete and the hearing time and place will be advertised shortly.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is proposing to improve the US 64 corridor in the area of Asheboro, Randolph County. As part of this action, the NCDOT also will improve access to the North Carolina Zoological Park (NC Zoo). The project is listed in the NCDOT‘s 2007-2013 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as Project R-2536.

The Preferred Alternative 29 improvements include a bypass on the south side of Asheboro, with a new road connecting to the NC Zoo. The new bypass will be a four-lane, controlled-access (no driveways) highway and is 13.7 miles in length. The opposite directions of travel will be separated by a grassy/landscaped median about 70 feet wide. The new road to the NC Zoo (the NC Zoo Connector) will be a two-lane controlled-access highway with design characteristics similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Total right-of-way width along the new bypass will average about 300 feet, with additional right of way needed at interchange locations to account for the ramps. Interchanges are included at both ends of the project on US 64, and at NC 49, I-73/74 (US 220 Bypass), the new NC Zoo Connector, NC 159, and NC 42. Design of the NC 49 interchange was recently modified to provide for free-flow ramps with no stop signs or traffic signals.

The purpose of the project is to improve access around the City of Asheboro and to the North Carolina Zoo, relieve traffic congestion on existing US 64 in Asheboro, and enhance high-speed regional travel along the US 64 intrastate corridor. The project is needed to address the following existing and anticipated conditions:

• Existing and future traffic congestion along US 64 cause significant travel delays, increase the potential for accidents, and contribute substantially to the inefficient operation of motor vehicles.
• Accident rates along existing US 64 in the Asheboro area are currently above the statewide average accident rates for similar roadways in North Carolina.
• Existing and projected traffic and land use conditions along existing US 64 through Asheboro diminish the route’s ability to function as an intrastate corridor.
• Congestion and backups occur on NC 159 (Zoo Parkway) due to local traffic mixing with traffic destined for the NC Zoo. Delays are experienced by zoo visitors, and zoo-related congestion makes it difficult for residents along NC 159 (Zoo Parkway) to access their homes.
• The project is essential to NCDOT‘s plan to upgrade the US 64 and NC 49 corridors from Statesville to Raleigh (US 64) and from Charlotte to Raleigh (NC 49 and US 64).

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