Blue Ridge Road District Study

I came across this again yesterday.  The City of Raleigh has been working on a study for the Blue Ridge Road corridor which includes NC State's Carter Findley and BioMed Campus, the PNC Arena, the North Carolina Art Museum, the NC State Fairgrounds, and various private businesses and a few residential areas.  They have drafted their final plan and will unveil it to council in the coming weeks.

One of the things I am most excited about is the planned changes NCDOT wants to do to the intersection of Blue Ridge Road and Hillsborough Street.  I drive through that intersection at least 8 times a week and its a pain in the butt.  Here is what they want to do:

How cool is that?  They want to lower the road under the existing Hillsborough Street and railroad tracks.  Too bad it probably won't be complete until 2020 or so, but I still think it is great.  I think the whole plan is great actually.  The area does need more hotels, restaurants, attractions, and residential development.  It will definitely be more of a destination in the next 20 years.