Downtown Wake Forest traffic study wants input by November 6

Residents and business owners have until Friday, November 6, to fill out a survey for the Downtown Traffic Study in Wake Forest. The town will also hold a drop-in open house on the study from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 28, in the Town Hall lobby at 301 S. Brooks St.

The town announced both on September 30. The survey is on the town’s Engage Wake Forest page and takes less than 10 minutes, according to the town’s announcement.

What the study will look at

The Board of Commissioners authorized the study earlier this year, ahead of downtown redevelopment and major infrastructure changes tied to the NCDOT S-Line rail corridor. According to the town, the study has four parts:

• It will measure traffic volumes on downtown streets.
• It will look at how downtown intersections perform.
• It will weigh impacts on the town’s historic districts.
• It will study the effects of upcoming S-Line work, including a Downtown Mobility Hub, road closures and grade separations.

The goal is a set of recommendations to improve downtown travel for people walking, biking, taking transit and driving. The project page puts specific emphasis on the area around Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The announcement does not name a consultant, give a cost or list the streets inside the study boundary. It does not say which downtown crossings the S-Line plans would close.

The rail work behind it

The S-Line is the CSX rail corridor planned to carry passenger trains between Raleigh and Richmond, with service restored to Wake Forest. Several pieces of it are already moving in and around town:

• The Rogers Road grade separation, a bridge carrying Rogers Road over the tracks, is budgeted at about $57.1 million.
• NCDOT anticipates starting construction on Rogers Road in 2027, according to the Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership.
• A grade separation at Durant Road is under construction.
• A bridge at Ligon Mill Road is proposed, with its timing dependent on future funding, according to the town’s grade separation page.
• The corridor received $57.9 million in federal money in spring 2026 for land surveying, engineering and design.

The partnership laid out those figures in an August 3 report on the corridor, which also noted a $31.25 million BUILD grant application submitted through NCDOT.

The traffic study’s project page links to the town’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, adopted in 2019, as background.

How to take part

There are three ways to weigh in or ask questions:

• The online survey is open through Friday, November 6.
• The October 28 open house runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Town Hall lobby, and visitors can drop in at any time.
• Questions go to Brad West, the town’s long range planning manager, at 919-435-9542 or bwest@wakeforestnc.gov.