Transportation officials have started plans to widen a congested stretch of Interstate 40 between Johnston County and Raleigh, but relief for frustrated commuters is years down the road.

In a workshop last week in the Cleveland community, the N.C. Department of Transportation sought feedback on preliminary plans for the project. The plans call for widening 11 miles of I-40 from I-440 at the edge of Raleigh to the N.C. 42 interchange in Cleveland.

The project is currently unfunded, and it's not scheduled to start until 2016, with completion of the new lanes not slated until at least 2020. Officials aren't yet sure how many lanes will be added.

"It may be more lanes on the north end," said project manager Bob Deaton.

While the project is years away, DOT is getting ready to start environmental studies and other preliminary efforts.

"We're entering the meat of the planning phase," Deaton said.

Most of the people at the workshop were either property owners concerned about losing their land to the project or commuters hoping for traffic relief on their drives to and from work.

Many commuters said they want to see the project done sooner. The opening of the U.S. 70 bypass of Clayton has created more traffic on a four-lane stretch of I-40 from the Garner-Clayton exit to the start of the bypass. Traffic will likely only get worse with more development planned for the Cleveland community.

Currently, the section of I-40 sees 101,000 cars a day on the Raleigh end and 53,000 cars on the Johnston County end. DOT projections indicate that the numbers will increase to 140,000 and 75,000 cars, respectively, by 2035.

Population growth is also expected farther into Johnston County, particularly the McGee's Crossroads community. Under the plan, I-40 will continue to be four lanes wide from N.C. 42 to N.C. 210 at McGee's Crossroads, but Deaton said that widening that section is part of the DOT's long-range plan.