S-Line rail work rises over Durant Road in Raleigh

Steel and dirt are already changing the view over Durant Road in Raleigh, where crews are building the S-Line rail project and trucks are moving materials as the corridor pushes north toward Wake Forest. The work marks one of the clearest signs yet that the long-planned Raleigh to Richmond passenger rail effort is moving from planning into visible construction across Wake County.

The Durant Road grade separation is designed to put the road over the railroad, a shift that should make the crossing safer and keep traffic moving as trains increase. NCDOT said the roadway embankments at Durant were finished by February 2026 and that bridge construction was expected to begin this summer. Construction at the site began in 2024, and the project was part of the first construction wave in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment.

More disruption is spreading to other parts of northeast Raleigh. New Hope Church Road began construction in February 2026, and that project will replace an at-grade crossing with a bridge over the railroad. NCDOT says the New Hope Church Road grade separation will cost about $22.7 million and take about three years to complete. Farther north, land acquisition and utility work are advancing at Millbrook Road in Raleigh and Rogers Road in Wake Forest, showing how the line is beginning to reshape several corridors at once.

The changes are part of a broader state and federal push to create faster, more frequent passenger rail service between Raleigh, Richmond, Washington, D.C., and the Northeast. NCDOT says the full Raleigh to Richmond corridor would stretch 162 miles and save more than an hour of travel time between Raleigh and Richmond when complete. The first segment, from Raleigh to Wake Forest, is backed by a $1.09 billion federal grant awarded in December 2023, and the Federal Railroad Administration has approved advancement of a separate $58 million design engineering grant for the full route.

Officials say the rail work is meant to do more than add trains. By replacing 11 at-grade crossings with highway-rail overpasses in the initial Raleigh to Wake Forest phase, the project is intended to reduce collision risk, cut train horn noise, ease congestion on freight rail lines, and improve reliability for both passengers and freight operations.

Wake Forest is already planning for what comes next. Downtown Wake Forest has been chosen as the preferred site for a future S-Line mobility hub with an Amtrak station, and town officials said a $13.2 million federal grant moved that plan to the next stage. The town says the completed hub could cost about $60 million and could include ticketing, restrooms, covered seating, and eventually café, retail, or office space. If the project stays on its 2030 launch path, construction on the hub is likely no later than 2028, giving Wake County a new rail anchor that could influence commuting patterns, development, and regional connections for years to come.