Wake BRT: Northern Corridor - Midtown
Locally Preferred Alternative for the Wake Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Northern Corridor - Midtown
Wake County residents passed a ballot measure to fund the Wake Transit Plan in November 2016. The Wake Transit Plan recommends 20 miles of BRT infrastructure to be implemented in four (4) corridors in Wake County, to provide frequent and reliable urban mobility. The Northern Corridor is the final of the four planned BRT corridors to advance through planning and implementation.
The 2030 Wake Transit Plan expanded the Northern BRT scope to include connecting Downtown Raleigh to both Triangle Town Center and North Hills. The 2035 Wake Transit Plan identified funding for the two Northern BRT branches.
The purpose of the Wake BRT Midtown Corridor project is to improve transit service from Downtown Raleigh to the North Hills area of Raleigh. This new transit investment would accommodate the existing and continued growth of the surrounding area, create transit infrastructure to bypass congestion points, and improve the attractiveness of the service to capture new ridership.
The project will include dedicated transit infrastructure improvements between Downtown Raleigh and Midtown, including transit signal priority (TSP) at signalized intersections and weather‐protected BRT stations. BRT stations will be designed to include branding, fare payment options, level vehicle boarding, real‐time bus arrival information, ADA accessibility and safe pedestrian infrastructure between stations and surrounding infrastructure.
Through the Northern BRT Major Investments Study, five (5) potential route alignments were identified. A number of factors were evaluated including ridership, travel time, traffic impacts, land use and costs. During public engagement resident feedback indicated the desire for a mix and match option that included elements of both Midtown 1 & Midtown 5. The result was the development of Midtown 6, a slightly longer route that serves all major growth areas along the corridor and has the highest development opportunity potential.
During in-person meetings where the detailed alternative results were shared, the public expressed a preference for the Midtown 6 alignment. This preference was rooted in the wider variety of destinations that Midtown 6 offers along the route. The Northern Corridor MIS Study recommended Midtown 6 be selected as the LPA for the Midtown corridor due to the factors listed below:
- Excellent development opportunities
- Significant City right-of-way control
- Ridership is a close second to the top alignment
- Moderate traffic impact risk
- Potential intercity rail connectivity
On May 19, 2026, the Raleigh City Council endorsed the LPA (Midtown 6) and, in June 2026, concurrence was reached on the LPA through the Wake Transit Concurrence Process. A map of the proposed LPA is below.
CAMPO Public Comment Period: August 17, 2026 to September 15, 2026
Submit feedback on the proposed LPA through the comment form.
CAMPO Exectuive Board Public Hearing: September 16, 2026
Sign up to speak at the Public Hearing on CAMPO's Meeting Details webpage. 