A new long-term look for U.S. 64 between Cary and Pittsboro will have several jurisdictions seeking public input.

Community workshops are set for later this month in Apex and Pittsboro for the U.S. 64 Corridor Study team to go over the concept. The team comprises 30 staffers from N.C. Department of Transportation, Wake and Chatham counties, the towns of Apex, Cary and Pittsboro and several other agencies.

The corridor study is a 30-year look at growing the 19-mile stretch into a freeway and expressway. In addition, the study will look at land uses along the route to make them compatible with the reconfiguration, said David Wasserman, who is coordinating the study team for the N.C. Department of Transportation.

“It really is to protect the corridor from future development,” Wasserman said.

“We’re primarily presenting long-term options.”

None of the concrete changes the study might end up recommending are funded yet, Wasserman said.

Among the issues to resolve are how to integrate the freeway concept west of the proposed route of Interstate 540 to Pittsboro with Jordan Lake and state park land surrounding it, Wasserman said.

Land-use issues will include, for instance, looking at where strip or commercial development is planned to make sure that access from the highway would be available, Wasserman said.

Then there are environmental and aesthetic concerns.

“What we don’t want to happen is for this corridor to become a Capital Boulevard,” Wasserman said, referring to Raleigh’s heavily developed north-south artery.

Though outlining the corridor’s long-term future is the point of the study, shorter term goals are also being reviewed. Over the next five to 10 years, the highway could be retrofitted to incorporate elements of the “superstreet” concept, Wasserman said.

A relatively new transportation concept, a superstreet reconfigures highway intersections to reduce the number of direct crossings and directing motorists to use strategically placed left-turn lanes to make U-turns to reach the other side of the road.

As applied in locations such as Leland and Chapel Hill, superstreets have improved safety and traffic flow, Wasserman said.

Wasserman said that after the two workshops, the team will digest the public input and host another series of meetings, probably in October.