State Delays Estes Drive Extension Project Another Five Years

GOVERNMENT

Instead of Chapel Hill building bicycle lanes and sidewalks along the Estes Drive Extension this fall, the state government has pushed the project start date to 2031. The town says the North Carolina Department of Transportation has also cut funding to $5-6 million, half of what Chapel Hill expected.

“In response to this information, town staff and our consultant have reworked the preferred alternative,” the town says, “which will still meet the safety and accessibility desired by the public and will have a lower cost.”

The Estes Drive plan

The town began adding new crosswalks, bike lanes and pedestrian paths to parts of Estes back in 2022. The Estes Drive Extension plan will place new paths and bicycle lanes from the Estes/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard intersection to the railroad crossing at the town limits. The approximately 1.3-mile project would connect to Estes’ existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and to the proposed path for the Bolin Creek Greenway Extension.

Chapel Hill considered several options for allocating cyclists and pedestrians on the redesigned road before settling on a design last November. The project would have put a two-way bicycle path and a multi-use path along the east side of Estes from the railway tracks to Seawell School Road. From Sewell School Road to MLK Blvd., it would have provided protected bike lanes on both sides and a multi-use path.

A memorandum from earlier this month states that NCDOT is limiting federal funding for the project due to “rising project costs and associated statewide funding challenges.” Town staff believes they can find added funding through the Triangle West Transportation Planning Organization, increasing the total available to $10 to 11 million. The revised project plan would place it within that range.

The new plan removes the cycle track and sidewalk between the Carrboro border and Seawell School Road and replaces them with a combined 10-foot multiuse path and a 6-foot sidewalk. The concrete median separating the bike lanes from traffic between Seawell School Road and MLK will be two feet wide rather than four feet. In the new plan, the westbound bicycle lane lacks a curb and gutter, and the 10-foot multiuse path between Seawell School Road and MLK will now be a six-foot sidewalk. The changes are not only lower-cost but will also reduce long-term maintenance costs.

The next step is to contact NCDOT for approval. Then the town will begin the design and environmental studies, after which it will start work on construction plans. Town staff will continue to push for the NCDOT to advance the project’s start dates.

Bolin Creek Public Comment Period Ending

If you have strong opinions about the design of the Bolin Creek greenway, this is the last week to make your views known. The public comment period ends Feb. 21.

The greenway is a 2.5-mile paved trail connecting the Tanyard Branch Trail and Umstead Park to the Chapel Hill Community Center. The planned next step is to stretch the greenway from Umstead Park to the Estes Drive Extension.

The project has generated heavy controversy in the area. The town says the extended path will “provide additional opportunities for biking, walking, running, and rolling for everyone.” Some residents agree. Other residents believe placing a concrete bikeway in the buffer zone around Bolin Creek will harm the environment and the water quality.

If you want to express your views, you can contact Mobility and Greenways Manager Bergen Watterson by mailing her at the address “Town of Chapel Hill, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514” or emailing bwatterson@townofchapelhill.org.

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press