Thousands of Western Wake citizens are petitioning against a report that recommends expanding a portion of U.S. 64 into a freeway.

The petition, signed by about 2,800 people, was submitted to transportation officials Wednesday, formalizing more than a year of citizen outcry over the U.S. 64 Draft Corridor Study.

The study, released in early May by the N.C. Department of Transportation, looks at a four-lane, 19-mile stretch that passes through western Wake. The study offers solutions based on traffic estimates over the next 30 years.

The latest draft of the study had dropped some ideas - such as turning U.S. 64 into an elevated expressway or installing a "superstreet" at the clogged intersection with Laura Duncan Road - that were unpopular with some residents.

But opponents say the study is still lacking.

Through the petition, they're asking the state to:

Designate the N.C. 540 section of the Outer Loop as a toll-free bypass to U.S. 64. Opponents would support a plan to re-route U.S. 64 along 540 - a lengthy process that involves approval at the state and federal level. It would allow through-traffic to use the 540 route instead of U.S. 64.

Change the name from U.S. 64 to Tryon Boulevard/Business 64: A different designation would effectively remove the contested segment of U.S. 64 out of the corridor and make it a community road.

Avoid constructing superstreets in Apex and Cary entirely.

"[U.S.] 64 is not just a thoroughfare but a main street. High schools are there, libraries are there, churches are located there," said Dan Epstein, an organizing member of Save 64, a grassroots group that organized the petition. "... The community still feels NCDOT has not listened."

The NCDOT expects to include the comments when it meets with regional transit committees over the next few months.

The recommendations could make their way into a final version of the study.

But some ideas may not fly.

Making N.C. 540 toll-free is nearly impossible, said Dan Thomas, an NCDOT planning engineer.

The project is moving forward because it's funded through the tolls.

Changing the name of that strip to Tryon Boulevard is a local decision. But Thomas doesn't support the name change. "It's a community road, but it also serves regional and state needs," he said.

The study is just a starting point for planning, Thomas said. No money has been set aside for U.S. 64 improvements - estimated to cost $325 million - and no construction timetables have been proposed.

"We're not going to do anything until traffic gets bad," he said.

Much of the worst congestion on U.S. 64 is around traffic-signal intersections.

Drivers frequently are backed up waiting for others to make left turns, and cars on side roads face long waits for short green lights.

Part of the state's plan involves steps to block side-street drivers from crossing or turning left onto U.S. 64.

Last year's version proposed "superstreet" loops at seven intersections between U.S. 1 in Cary and N.C. 751 in Chatham County, and a few more between N.C. 751 and Pittsboro.

Under that scheme, all side-street drivers would have to turn right onto U.S. 64.

To go back the other way, they would make U-turns across the median.

Cars traveling in all directions would get more green-light time than they do now, and traffic engineers say even the side-street traffic would move more smoothly.

After dropping the superstreet idea for Laura Duncan Road, the NCDOT came up with a so-called "modern roundabout" design.

The intersection would be converted to an interchange, with Laura Duncan passing over U.S. 64.

Instead of a simple overpass road, Laura Duncan would become a flattened circle - stretching across the bridge and connecting to the U.S. 64 ramps on both sides.

Drivers exiting from U.S. 64 would make a right turn onto the roundabout as it circles across the bridge.

A sidewalk would take pedestrians around the outside of the loop.

Cary and Apex are working to approve a unified response to the report.

Council members have worked with members of Save 64.

The towns' comments, expected by the end of the month, will likely reflect some of the petition's points.

State transportation planners will use the public comments and present them at an August meeting with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group that coordinates work between local governments and the NCDOT.

Eventually, a finalized plan will be forwarded to state and regional officials who will decide how the region's transportation money is spent in the future.