A little over three miles of bike lanes will soon span a strip of Fayetteville Road in Durham.

Monday night the Durham City Council approved the project in conjunction with the widening of Fayetteville Road. The lanes will begin at Woodcroft Parkway and run to Buxton Street.

Three Durham residents came to speak in favor of the project.

"The widening project is an explicit acknowledgement of the need to increase capacity and move people from that part of town," said Jack Warman, a supporter of the bike lanes. "The increase in population and the increase in business is warranted."

City leaders had suggested eliminating the $2.5 million path from the widening project, but residents protested, and in the end, changed the council's mind.

Construction on the new bike lanes is expected to begin next year.