The Town of Apex is gearing up to start work on two more segments of the 6-mile Apex Peakway, its unfinished city-circling route.

The town expects to start construction on a 1.1-mile segment from Olive Chapel Road to South Salem Street next month, with construction being completed next August, said Adam Stephenson, a senior engineer with the town, via e-mail.

In March the town hopes to begin construction on the next phase, a .4-mile segment from Hillcrest Road to North Salem Street, which will take until December 2007, Stephenson said. These will be the first portions of the loop funded by $10 million from a voter-approved bond referendum in 2004, said Mike Wilson, Apex’s assistant town manager.

The Peakway has been in the works since the late 1960s when the town’s original thoroughfare plan envisioned a route much like Cary Parkway that would draw traffic away from the town’s congested core.

Small sections of the Peakway were built back in the 1970s by commercial and residential developers.

The town didn’t get in on the act until later. In 2002 the most recent Peakway segment was completed — 0.3 miles connecting Old Raleigh Road and Center Street using the town’s general funds.

So far about 2.4 miles of the Peakway are completed, Stephenson said via e-mail.

“There aren’t a lot of efficient routes,” Wilson said of why the town thinks the Peakway will improve its traffic patterns, many of which cut through its historical downtown area.

Since the early 1990s Apex has invested thousands of dollars in downtown improvements. Once struggling to attract new businesses, the downtown now boasts several shops and restaurants.

Wilson remains convinced that the Peakway won’t draw too much traffic away from downtown; taking away the through traffic should actually enhance the downtown’s appeal, he said.

At least one downtown business owner agrees.

“I think that the people who come downtown, come because of the character of downtown,” said Pam Huelsman, owner of the Rusty Bucket, a home furnishings and accessories store located at 104-A N. Salem St.

Wilson said that the town will probably be able to get about two-thirds of the Peakway route done in the next seven years, though after that time funding will be an issue.