Town, county and state Department of Transportation officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the bypass officially. The 10.7-mile stretch of highway runs from Interstate 40 in Wake County to the U.S. 70 Business-U.S. 70 split just east of Clayton. Officials hope the $123 million project will relieve congestion on existing U.S. 70 through Clayton.

The project includes several environmentally friendly measures, such as a wildlife underpass, and “dynamic message signs,” said N.C. Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett. “The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources complimented the environmental stewardship of efforts during the construction,” he said. “This is a model of how things should be done.”

Johnston County Commissioner Cookie Pope found out firsthand how the bypass would be beneficial to travelers before she came to the ceremony. “I noticed when (County Manager) Rick Hester was bringing County Commissioners Wade Stewart, Tony Braswell, Ray Woodall, Jeff Carver and myself through Clayton, we hit all 11 of those stoplights,” she said. “We are excited to be here and we thank you for this.”

Smithfield Mayor Norman Johnson often travels to Wake County, so he was particularly looking forward to testing the bypass. “Even just as a casual traveler to Raleigh or Cary, I usually go through Clayton,” he said. “The main hang-up is you run into more traffic there. I think the bypass will be a great benefit to all. I can’t see any minuses or downside to it.”

More residential growth from the bypass might come to Selma, said Mayor Charles Hester. “I don’t think we will have tremendous growth, but we will probably have more rooftop growth coming from it,” he said. “I just think it will make us so much more accessible.”

Wilson’s Mills Mayor Peter Wilson wants the bypass to spark commercial growth at the intersection of Swift Creek and Wilson’s Mills roads. However, he did have some concerns. “This is the first traffic light motorists will see after traveling on the 70-mph freeway,” Wilson said about the light at Swift Creek Road. “We have asked the DOT to look into some type of notification to motorists that a signal light is ahead.”