Tree crews are rolling down New Bern Avenue this week, clearing out long stretches of greenery as Raleigh pushes ahead with its first Bus Rapid Transit corridor. The work is clustered around the WakeMed area and comes with a familiar construction package: temporary lane shifts, bus stop changes and underground utility work that will stretch over multiple years as the city builds dedicated lanes for faster, more reliable bus service.
Clearing kicks off between Poole Road and Sunnybrook
According to the City of Raleigh, contractors have started cutting trees and shrubs along New Bern Avenue between Poole Road and Sunnybrook Road. Crews are beginning in the median so they can get at underground utilities between Poole Road and Raleigh Boulevard before moving on to other parts of the corridor.
The city says vegetation will first come out on the outbound side of New Bern, with work then flipping to the inbound lanes as the project marches east and west. Some bus stops inside the clearing zone may be shifted or temporarily shut down while major operations are underway.
Traffic, transit and parking headaches ahead…