Atlantic Avenue Improvement Project

We strive to make Raleigh’s roadways safe for all types of transportation.

Updated: May 5, 2025

Atlantic Avenue Construction

We're making improvements to Atlantic Avenue between New Hope Church Road and Highwoods Boulevard.

We are working to improve safety and make it easier for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians to navigate this section of Atlantic Avenue. This is a Complete Streets project, designed to be safe and accessible to all users.

Improvements to the roadway will include:

A median with turn lanes;
Sidewalks; and,
A multi-use path.

Project Details

Type:: Streets
Budget:: $11.6 Million
Project Lead:: Roadway Design & Construction
Contractors:: AECOM (Design Consultant) Carolina Sunrock (Construction)

Contact

Project Manager
Ben Possiel
benjamin.possiel@raleighnc.gov

Division Manager
Sylvester Percival
Sylvester.Percival@raleighnc.gov

Comment Form

Lead Department:: Engineering Services

Participating Department:: Engineering Services Transportation

Construction Updates

May 5, 2025

Crews have completed the paving operations along the west side of Atlantic Avenue. The bulk of work is now taking place along the east side of the street. The contractor is installing the new curb and gutter, driveway aprons, and sidewalk on the east side of the street. On the west side of the street, a crew is working to complete the multi-use path.

April 7, 2025

New traffic pattern week of April 7

Paving crews are working between New Hope Church Road and Ridgeway Ct. Once this work is complete, the contractor will shift traffic to the west side of Atlantic Avenue. The shift will allow crews to complete the installation of the new sidewalk and driveway aprons along the east side of the road.

Crews will also start paving operations on the multi-use path on the west side of Atlantic Avenue.

March 7, 2025

Paving operations

When the team installs new underground utilities, like water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater pipes, they dig out sections of the roadway and then fill and place small patches. These small patches can cause some bumpy roadway conditions. The good news is that the team is working on “patching operations” along the project limits. What does this mean? The team grinds down the roadway and fills that section with asphalt. This process creates a smoother finish than just filling a whole with asphalt, meaning you should have a smoother ride along this section of the road in the next week.

Once crews complete the patching, they will start wedging work along the corridor. What is wedging? Paving crews use asphalt in a series of variable-depth pavement lifts to join proposed grade surfaces with the existing roadway. In this case, the City is raising sections of Atlantic Avenue to help with some sight distance and drainage issues along the project limits.

What does this mean for travel along Atlantic Avenue?

Lane closures and traffic shifts will occur while crews complete this work, and there may be some traffic delays.

February 20, 2025

It has been a little over a year since Carolina Sunrock took over the Atlantic Avenue Improvement Project. The City’s project management team is happy to say the contractor is making good progress.

The construction team installed most of the new stormwater, sanitary sewer, and water infrastructure along the project limits. Most of this work is underground, but you can see new stormwater boxes along the roadway.
There is a new retaining wall near Comfort Court, and another one is underway in front of the Wake Med building. Public art will adorn the wall at the Wake Med building. Visit the public art page to learn more about the public art and the artist.

The section of the project that has seen the most transformative work is the roadway between Comfort Court and New Hope Church Road. The biggest thing the construction team has done in that area is raise the grade of the road at the Ingram Drive intersection by about 4 feet. Raising the grade in this location helped correct a sight distance issue at this intersection. The intersection was closed to traffic for about 60 days while crews completed this work. Currently, Ingram Drive is a right-in and right-out-only interstation. Once the construction contractor completes the roadway, the intersection will allow left turns into Ingram Drive, but vehicles cannot turn left out of Ingram Drive. The team has also widened this section of Atlantic Avenue to accommodate the new median and multi-use path they will install later in the project. Here is a time-lapse video that demonstrates the scope of the work that has taken place near the Ingram Drive intersection.

Atlantic Avenue Improvement Project - Time-lapse Video: July 2024 - February 2025

Schedule

Date	Activity
April 10, 2019	Pre-design Public Meeting
Summer 2019	Preliminary Plans Public Meeting
Spring 2020	Design Plan Public Touchpoint
Summer 2020	City Council Project Presentation
Summer 2021	Complete Right of Way and Easement Acquisition
Summer 2021	Advertise for Construction Bids
Summer 2021	Award Construction Contract
Feb, 22, 2022	Pre-construction Meeting
Fall 2023	Construction Activity Ceased
Fall 2023	Carolina Sunrock Awarded Remainder of Construction Contract
Winter 2024	Construction Activity Resumes
Early 2026	Project Completed

Public Art

The project will include a public art component. The City selected Durham artist David Wilson as the artist for this project. To learn more about the artist selected, and give your input visit the Atlantic Avenue Public Art Project page.

History

During the early construction phase of this project the construction contractor, JSmith Civil, stopped work on the project. The City worked with Westfield, JSmith Civil's bonding company, to arrange for the project’s completion by a replacement contractor. In Late 2023, Carolina Sunrock was selected as the contractor to complete the Atlantic Avenue Project.

The Atlantic Avenue Widening Project is part of the Capital Improvement Program.

Key factors the City and our design consultants will consider during the design processes are:

The existing street is a four-lane undivided roadway with a sidewalk on the east side.
The intersection at Ingram Street has been a high-crash location historically, made difficult by rolling topography.
The east side of this section of Atlantic Avenue is mainly residential, and any widening will likely occur on the other side of the street.

Atlantic Avenue Pre-Construction Presentation

The City of Raleigh is scheduled to start construction along Atlantic Avenue between New Hope Church Road and Highwoods Boulevard, in March 2022. This short video explains what people living and commuting through this section of Atlantic Avenue can expect during construction.