The Southern Wake Expressway would connect Holly Springs with Garner. The route for the southern leg known as the Orange Route, has been protected from development by NCDOT since the 1990s, but it would cross habitat for the endangered dwarf wedge mussel. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked for routes north of the Orange Route to be considered as a way to provide a shorter option, possibly minimizing impacts to natural resources. In September 2010, a new map showed several other routes, including the controversial Red Route, which many Garner-area residents protested in a December 2010 meeting; a total of 3,000 signatures on petitions opposed the route as well.