Jonathan Jacobs, the town’s transportation engineer, provided the following information about some of the town’s street projects.
*The state Department of Transportation has again pushed back the date to begin constructing the traffic bridge over the CSX tracks on Rogers Road to early 2021 when it was the fall of 2020. This project was put on hold when the 900+ projects with NCDOT were put on hold last year. They re-opened it fairly quickly, but it caused delays with right-of-way and utility relocations, Jacobs said.
*What is the status of the connection of South Franklin Street to the bypass? Town staff is currently reviewing construction drawings for this work to be done by Holding Village. Holding Village’s schedule is to have it completed in the next 18 months. Since its completion is required based on number of occupied homes, this is a critical path for them to continue development in the north lake section. (See the three Holding Village projects under review by the planning department in The Growth Rate.)
*What were the technical problems the engineers had in creating the roundabout on Stadium Drive at North Wingate Street? It is hoped Stadium Drive will be completed in February. The traffic signal is on an independent contract and should be installed in March. Delivery of the mast-arm (signal pole) has been delayed by the manufacturer.
The biggest issues related to the roundabout was the historic nature of the surrounding area. This was originally planned to be a signalized intersection, but it was determined a roundabout would function with a good level of service and the Town would prefer a roundabout over another traffic signal.
Kimley Horn worked very hard with Town Staff and the Seminary to ensure the design of this area did not take away from the historic nature of the surrounding area. The steep hill is exactly why the center island looked “funny” when it was being constructed. I received a lot of comments from residents questioning its construction being correct. As you can now see, the truck apron really ties it all together. The roundabout actually fit very nicely in the area. As much as it’s hard to believe, roundabouts don’t take up a substantial amount of right-of-way greater than compared to a standard intersection. We did have to obtain right-of-way from the Seminary which donated all of the right-of-way that was needed for construction.
*An update to the news from Virginia about it gaining the right to passenger service all along the CSX S-line route from Petersburg, Va. to Ridgeway, NC. Now NCDOT is looking to buy the entire railroad corridor from Norlina to Raleigh to continue what Virginia planned with its announcement.
*The Town of Wake Forest has installed all the bus stop signs for the new loop bus route. It will be Loop Bus B and the signs are lettered in red to distinguish them from Loop Bus A on the opposite side of the road.
Jacobs said, “Bus shelters will analyzed once we get the ridership numbers from the new route, but there will be bus shelter funding in the upcoming CIP update.”
*Why does DOT have a 30-year plan? Jacobs wrote, “NCDOT updates its 30-year plan periodically similar to the CTP that the Town just updated and approved in the fall of 2019. This is more of a generalized plan, but most importantly when projects are selected they must be on the plan in order to qualify for funding. That’s why the 30-year plan is important. The key to remember, we plan for 30 years out, but things change so frequently that our plan for 30 years from now today, could be the total opposite tomorrow.”
*The Stadium Drive Complete Street project should be complete in February. The contractor is the Fred Smith Company and the contract was for $6,789,876.
The project includes resurfacing North Avenue. There is a roundabout at the intersection of Stadium, North Avenue and Wingate Street. A center turn lane has been added to Stadium along with turn lanes at intersections and driveways and bump-outs for buses. From Glencoe Drive to the Richland Creek bridge there is a 10-foot multi-use path on the south and a 5-foot sidewalk on the north. From the bridge to Wingate Street there are sidewalks on both sides.
Ligon Mill Road Operational Improvements There will be some action later this year. Jacobs said in an email on Sept. 12, “This project is going to be re-bid in December. We are ready to bid now, but with the winter months coming, it is better to bid at the end/first of the year with a late winter/early spring start date. We are targeting March 1 for a notice to proceed.”
The project for the section of Ligon Mill Road west from South Main Street to a new section built just past the Walmart driveway will provide a center turn lane and turn lanes for driveways and entrances. Acquiring the right-of-way from several owners has been one reason the project has stalled at times. It also went out for bid once and there were no bidders.
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