MONROE — The N.C. Turnpike Authority has announced a preferred alternative for the Monroe Parkway.

In keeping with its original recommendation, officials agreed to support Alternative D, which begins west of Marshville and follows Option 2 through Indian Trail to the turnpike’s end at the Highway 74/Interstate 485 interchange. As the preferred alternative, D is considered the most likely candidate for the final route, which will be announced in May.

Officials first recommended Alternative D and Option 2 in March. The Indian Trail Town Council opposes the alternative because it cuts through a business park and will affect a local family business corridor, including Carolina Courts. The Stallings Town Council has also opposed the route, though Mayor Lynda Paxton supports it.

NCTA director of government and public affairs Reid Simons said the final environmental studies are under way. Other water- and air-quality studies will be completed before the May announcement of the final route.

“We’re making progress, so we are pleased,” Turnpike Authority staff engineer Jennifer Harris said.

About a mile of existing U.S. 74 will be reconfigured. The section will include elevated, tolled expressway lanes and non-tolled frontage roads on either side of the expressway lanes to serve local traffic. Harris said that elevating the stretch of U.S. 74 near Interstate 485 will reduce the footprint and reduce the affected businesses by half compared to previous plans.

The NCTA also released results from an aesthetics committee put together to design bridges, walls and other architecture. Members of the Union County Historical Society sat on the committee.

Historic buildings around the county were studied, and the report showed that “the committee wanted to include a mix of brick and stone and incorporate arches into the design to give the roadway a classic look.”

The project is expected to cost between $695 million and $860 million, which will be financed through bonds and repaid with toll revenue. Construction contracts are scheduled to go out in mid-2010. The road is estimated to save drivers about 30 minutes and could be open to traffic by late 2013.

“People keep saying that they don’t think it will ever be built, but I’m expecting construction to begin next summer,” Paxton said.

To read the documents in their entirety, go to http://tinyurl.com/MonroeParkway.