Atop the list: Concerns for the safety of drivers traveling along Lufkin Road near U.S. 1.

Town officials considered realigning the road a few years ago.

The town sought to shift a section of Lufkin Road south and east from its current endpoint at Ten Ten Road to form a new intersection with the northbound exit ramp from U.S. 1 onto Lufkin.

"We considered it several years ago but backed out because it was getting fairly expensive," said Reed Huegerich, a transportation planner for Apex.

That's less of a concern now, thanks to federal dollars from the Federal Highway Administration's Surface Transportation Program.

The money that will help Apex begin the planning and environmental impact phases of the Lufkin Road project will come from a larger pool - $10 million - awarded from the FHWA this year to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The funds may be used to build or improve upon local service roads, state highways and U.S. highways.

Other eligible projects include bridges on public roads and greenways and other pedestrian walkways.

Federal dollars will pay for 80 percent of approved projects.

Local governments, meanwhile, will have to cough up the remaining 20 percent.

Huegerich said that the eventual elimination of the intersection at Lufkin and Ten Ten roads should diminish the chances for traffic accidents.

"When you come up to that intersection now, there's kind of a curve and you can't see as far down the road," he said. "There are also turning conflicts there where some people are turning onto the highway and others are turning onto Lufkin Road."

A future intersection with the U.S. 1 exit ramp also would come with a traffic signal, something Huegerich noted is not present at the crosspoint of Lufkin Road and Ten Ten Road. Planning for the Lufkin Road project is expected to cost about $180,000.

The Federal Highway Administration dollars will foot all but $30,000 of the bill.