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Wake Transit update: New Bern construction starting; Southern Corridor at 30% design and seeking federal grant agreement
Summary
City of Raleigh and Wake Transit officials told Garner council that New Bern Avenue bus rapid transit construction is moving forward in packages and that the Southern Corridor (Raleigh–Garner) is at 30% design and pursuing a full funding grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration.
Het Patel, assistant director for transit for the City of Raleigh, gave the Town of Garner council a progress report on Wake County’s bus rapid transit (BRT) program, saying New Bern Avenue is in construction procurement and the Southern Corridor is at a 30% design milestone and seeking federal grant agreement steps.
Patel said New Bern Avenue — a 5.4-mile corridor with 3.3 miles of dedicated bus lanes and 10 stations — has been split into three construction packages after an earlier round of no bids. “Package 1 … awarded July 1” and the city planned to issue a notice to proceed in October; package 2 had two bids opened in September and the city aimed for council action in October; package 3 (vertical station work) is expected to be advertised later this year or early next year.
The Southern Corridor, which would extend service from downtown Raleigh to the Walmart at Purser Drive in Garner, is roughly 5.1 miles with about 75% of its length in dedicated bus lanes and nine planned stations. Patel told council the project has a federal allocation of $85,900,000 from May 2024 and that the next steps to secure a full funding grant agreement include codified third‑party agreements (notably with NCDOT and the Town of Garner) and completing engineering to a 60% milestone to firm up costs and utility relocations.
Patel described BRT features: dedicated lanes, level boarding platforms, 60-foot articulated buses, signal priority, off-board fare collection and station branding. He said the Wake Transit plan — funded by a voter-approved half-cent sales tax for transit enhancements — anticipates the BRT program will increase frequency and hours of service.
Timeline details Patel gave: the Southern Corridor submitted 30% designs to NCDOT and the town in late September; the Federal Transit Administration provided concurrence on environmental documentation in April 2025; 60% design was anticipated in early 2026; and, if a full funding grant agreement is obtained in 2026, construction advertising could begin in 2028 with a multiyear build and a likely opening into the early 2030s (Patel said 2032 was a current assumption for Garner service, subject to schedule shifts).
Council members asked about contractor market conditions and construction durations; Patel said New Bern’s schedule was lengthened from an initial two-year window to about three-and-a-half years to reduce contractor risk and intends to apply similar lessons to the Southern Corridor. Patel also said the city plans outreach events (Raleigh‑centered on Nov. 3 and a Garner‑specific open house Nov. 17 pending final logistics) to present designs and receive public feedback.
Why it matters: the Southern Corridor would offer a high-frequency transit connection between downtown Raleigh and Garner and relies on federal discretionary capital grants. Council members and staff will be asked to finalize third‑party agreements and review milestone designs as the project moves from planning to engineering.
