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Wake Forest, Wake County

Wake Forest: NCDOT awards Rogers Road rail bridge; work may start Nov. 30

The state's Wednesday notice put the award at $40 million and named Blythe Construction. The News & Observer independently used Nov. 30 and fall 2030, and printed a $46.2 million project total.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

The downtown Raleigh skyline on a sunny day

File photo: Abhiram Juvvadi (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • The N.C. Department of Transportation, in an Oct. 28, 2026, release stamped 10:53 a.m., said it is moving forward with a $40 million project to build a bridge over the CSX railroad tracks on Rogers Road in Wake Forest.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026
  • That release said the contract went to Blythe Construction Inc. of Charlotte, and that the new span will replace the existing at-grade crossing in the same place.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026
  • The same notice said Heritage Branch Road will be rerouted to connect with Capital Creek Drive, about a quarter mile east of the current intersection, and that the job includes widening, grading, drainage, paving, traffic signals, and structures.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026
  • Construction could begin as early as Nov. 30, with the project expected to be substantially complete and open to traffic by fall 2030, the department wrote.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026
  • The News & Observer, writing Thursday, independently named Blythe Construction of Charlotte, used the same Nov. 30 start window, and used the same fall 2030 opening. That page put the job at $46.2 million. The Wednesday award notice prints $40 million and does not print $46.2 million.Confirmed by The News & Observer (posted 12:11 p.m. Eastern Oct. 29, 2026)
  • The newspaper wrote that Rogers Road will stay open during construction, with traffic shifted onto temporary lanes at times, and that the bridge and its approaches will have four travel lanes, a center turn lane, and sidewalks on both sides. The Wednesday award notice does not print those lane or detour details.Confirmed by The News & Observer only
  • The News & Observer also wrote that raising Rogers Road will require a new entrance to Heritage Professional Park. It repeated the Heritage Branch Road tie-in at Capital Creek Drive.Confirmed by The News & Observer only
  • An NCDOT PublicInput project page for P-5707, last updated Oct. 8, 2026, lists an estimated $46.2 million total under the adopted State Transportation Improvement Program, split as $3.7 million for right of way and $42.5 million for construction and utilities. Those lines are estimates and are marked as subject to change. They are not the $40 million figure on the Oct. 28 award notice.Confirmed by NCDOT PublicInput page, P-5707 Rogers Road Grade Separation

Still unknown

  • Whether the $40 million award is only the construction contract, or the full job. The Oct. 28 notice does not say
  • The first week of lane shifts. Neither page we read posts a detour map
  • How long any one stretch of Rogers Road will run on temporary pavement

What this means for you

Instructions from N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026; NCDOT PublicInput page, P-5707

This site is not the N.C. Department of Transportation. For project updates, use the Rogers Road PublicInput page or email Rogers-Rd-WakeForest@publicinput.com. The project hotline listed on that page is 984-205-6615, code 1830. This is not an emergency notice. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Wake Forest, the state transportation department said it has awarded a bridge that will carry Rogers Road over the CSX tracks.

The Wednesday notice put the job at $40 million and named Blythe Construction Inc. of Charlotte. It said the span replaces the at-grade crossing in the same spot.

Heritage Branch Road is slated to bend east to Capital Creek Drive, about a quarter mile from today's intersection, that page said. The work list also covers widening, grading, drainage, paving, signals, and structures.

Crews could start as early as Nov. 30. The department wrote that the crossing should be substantially finished and open by fall 2030.

The News & Observer, writing Thursday, independently named Blythe, used that November window, and used the same fall 2030 opening. That account printed $46.2 million. The award note does not.

The newspaper added that Rogers Road is to stay open, with traffic moved onto temporary lanes at times, and that the finished span is planned with four travel lanes, a center turn lane, and sidewalks. It also said a new entrance is needed for Heritage Professional Park. Those details are the newspaper's.

A department project page last updated Oct. 8 lists a $46.2 million estimate in the adopted state program, $3.7 million of it for right of way. That table is older than Wednesday's award and is marked as subject to change.

Triangle Local is not the transportation department. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No department rendering or newspaper photos are used here.

Why it matters

A main Wake Forest crossing is slated to become a bridge. Drivers need the official award, the earliest start date, and that the newspaper's $46.2 million total is not the $40 million on the state's Wednesday notice.

Updates

  1. Oct 29, 2026, 2:12 PM

    NCDOT's Wednesday notice awards a $40 million Rogers Road bridge job to Blythe Construction and says work may start Nov. 30, with traffic on the span by fall 2030. The News & Observer independently used those dates and printed a $46.2 million total.

Sources

  1. NCDOT Awards $40 Million Rogers Road Bridge Project (N.C. Department of Transportation, Oct. 28, 2026, 10:53 a.m.: $40 million; Blythe Construction Inc. of Charlotte; replace at-grade CSX crossing with a bridge at the same location; Heritage Branch Road rerouted to Capital Creek Drive, about a quarter mile east; widening, grading, drainage, paving, traffic signals, and structures; construction as early as Nov. 30; substantially complete and open to traffic by fall 2030. Text-only; no department renderings used.)

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Transportation · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 2:10 PM

  2. NCDOT begins work on another new railroad bridge, this time in Wake Forest (The News & Observer, Richard Stradling, posted Oct. 29, 2026, 12:11 p.m.: $46.2 million; Blythe Construction of Charlotte; begin as soon as Nov. 30; open to traffic by fall 2030; Rogers Road remains open with temporary lanes; four travel lanes, a center turn lane, and sidewalks on both sides; new entrance to Heritage Professional Park; Heritage Branch Road to Capital Creek Drive. S-line passenger-rail figures, the three Raleigh sister bridges, the Jason Orthner Thanksgiving line, and the NCDOT rendering are the newspaper's. Text-only; no newspaper or department photos used.)

    Published by The News & Observer · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 2:10 PM

  3. P-5707: Rogers Road Grade Separation - Wake Forest (NCDOT PublicInput page, fetched Oct. 29, 2026; page last updated Oct. 8, 2026: replace at-grade CSX S-line crossing on Rogers Road (S.R. 2052) with a bridge in the same location; Heritage Branch Road rerouted to Capital Creek Drive about 0.24 mile east; estimated $3.7 million right of way, $42.5 million construction and utilities, $46.2 million total, subject to change; construction activities scheduled to start fall of 2026; project email Rogers-Rd-WakeForest@publicinput.com; hotline 984-205-6615, code 1830. Text-only.)

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Transportation · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 2:10 PM

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