Ever since Apex was named the “#1 Best Place to Live in America” by Money Magazine in August 2015, the area has experienced massive growth. In fact, Apex was “America’s fastest-growing suburb” in July 2018 according to Realtor.com. From the small-town charm to the proximity to a big city, the flow of people hasn’t been experiencing any amount of decline. However, how will Apex adjust? After all, Apex is just a suburb; the infrastructure was never built to experience growth and traffic flow like this.

U.S. 64 is an important route for many Apex, Cary, and Raleigh residents. Recently, residents have experienced more gridlock and heavier traffic due to local growth. To fix these problems, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is investigating options to improve the flow of traffic along U.S. 64.

These changes may directly affect Apex High Schoolers because of the plans to redesign Shepherds Vineyard Drive and Lake Pine Drive, which are both roads about a mile east of the Apex High campus located on Laura Duncan Road. The NCDOT plans to reroute Shepherds Vineyard Drive under U.S. 64 as an underpass. The department would also make Lake Pine Drive a bridge over U.S. 64. Additionally, the plan is to make the currently four-lane highway into a six-lane highway. Although this plan hasn’t been approved yet, U.S. 64 surely needs improvement to adjust to the growth. Without it, Apex High students may experience risk crossing the highway, and the amount of car crashes will likely increase.

If approved, construction isn’t expected to start until 2022, and it would take three years to complete. The estimated cost of this project is $113.8 million.

The NCDOT’s plan aims to improve the flow of traffic, and embrace the number of new residents residing in the peak of good living. However, Apex residents are hopeful that these potential road advancements don’t cause a drastic change in their everyday life.