County pitches projects for state transportation plan
The widening of Cornwallis Road, running north-south above, is on the County's transportation wish list.
SMITHFIELD — The N.C. Department of Transportation is drafting its next State Transportation Improvement Program, and Johnston County leaders have chosen which new projects they want included in the STIP.
County Commissioners hope the state will:
- Widen Cornwallis Road to four lanes north of its intersection with Veterans Parkway, also known as N.C. 36. Add a sidepath along Cornwallis from north of Veterans Parkway to the Wake County line.
- Widen Cleveland Road to four lanes north of its intersection with Veterans Parkway. Add a sidepath along the widened section.
- Add a center turn lane on Pierce Road in the Cleveland community. Private development is coming to Pierce Road, and the hope here is to capitalize on any road improvements the DOT requires developers to make, explained County Planning Director Braston Newton. “We can hopefully get those improvements done at a lesser cost to the taxpayers,” he told Commissioners on July 20.
- Add a center turn lane on U.S. 70 Business in Smithfield from Interstate 95 to U.S. 70 East. That stretch of U.S. 70 Business runs past the Johnston County Public Schools’ Administration Building and the County’s Public Safety Center and Jail. Newton likened it to Pierce Road. “There is some development that is occurring, and County facilities are a part of that,” Newton said. “We’d like to maximize those development dollars and minimize the taxpayer dollars at the same time.”
- Add an access road at Johnston Regional Airport. Also, rehab and widen the taxiway and build a hangar on the east side of the airport.
- Build the Wilson’s Mills-to-Smithfield segment of the Neuse River Trail Greenway. “It would essentially go from the SRAC (Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center) to the community park in Wilson’s Mills,” Newton said.
- Build a greenway from near the Interstate 95-U.S. 701 interchange in Four Oaks to the nearby Rose Dairy Nature Preserve.
- Build a sidepath along Cornwallis Road from south of Veterans Parkway to Cleveland Road.
Whether the state includes the Johnston projects in the next STIP will depend on how well they score. “It involves scoring all project types — roadway, public transportation, aviation, bike, pedestrian and rail — on a number of different criteria,” Newton said.
Separately, he added, Johnston is working with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization on a study to determine the feasibility of bringing commuter rail to Johnston County.
Page last updated on: August 13, 2026