WAKE FOREST — Tonight, in the Franklinton High school gym, residents of Wake Forest, Youngsville, Franklinton, and elsewhere have the opportunity to see firsthand what effect the proposed high-speed rail project could have on their neighborhood.
Discussed for years, the as yet unfunded federal initiative is now gaining momentum — something local officials are concerned residents in affected communities will ignore at their own peril.
“I think everybody thought, ‘That’s not ever going to happen in my lifetime so I’m not going to worry about it,’” Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones said. “It is going to come through here and right now we have the opportunity … whether we like it or don’t like it to have some say in what’s going on.”
Plans presented online and at Monday night’s public hearing in Raleigh at the convention center downtown reveal three possible alternate routes for the trains to traverse — all generally following the CSX tracks that run right through the middle of Wake Forest, Youngsville and Franklinton.
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