The purpose of this mixed-methods research is to enhance current economic analysis practices of NCDOT projects by using empirical data to quantify economic impacts of major highway expansion projects. In coordination with the NCDOT, the research team selected and developed case studies for ten highway projects located throughout North Carolina. The chosen projects, which cover a wide range of various characteristics (e.g. urban/rural, east/central/west North Carolina, and bypass/widening/beltway) to provide a broad reference set to inform future investment decisions, are the following: (1) I-540 Northern Wake Expressway (R-2000 & R-2641), (2) US-64 Widening (R-2548), (3) Jacksonville Bypass (U-2107), (4) US-70 Clayton Bypass (R-2552), (5) Greensboro Southwest Loop (I-2402 & U-2524), (6) I-485 Charlotte Outer Loop (R-2248), (7) I-140 Wilmington Bypass (R-2633), (8) U-15/US-501 (R-942), (9) US-1 Cameron/Vass Bypass (R-210), and (10) US-421 Widening (R-2120, R-2239 & R-2240). In order to obtain relevant information on the ten projects, project documents, news articles, US Census data, among other data sources, were gathered for analysis. Ultimately, 182 semi-structured telephone interviews were completed for the ten case studies – in-depth interviews with local officials considered knowledgeable about the project(s), as well as brief interviews with area businesses to determine which ones moved to the area because of the project. Quantitative economic data was mapped and presented in line graphs, and the ten case studies were compared based on the data sources as well as the type of project. In summary, a comparison of economic impact measures across all ten case studies suggests all projects likely have some impact on business growth, residential development, and property price in the study area. However, beltways tend to have a greater impact on business growth while bypasses tend to have a greater impact on residential development and property price and widenings appear to have an even impact across all these measures.
