The N&O just announced that NCDOT has agreed to build Carrboro's preferred design for Smith Level Rd, but is dropping their previous requirement that Carrboro must pick up the ongoing maintenance tab for the roadway if the town's preferred design is to be accepted.
If Carrboro agrees, DOT will:
- Replace a traffic signal with a traffic roundabout at the Smith Level intersection with Rock Haven Road (the entrance road for Carrboro High School)
- Make Smith Level two lanes wide with a center turn lane north from Rock Haven to BPW Club Road
- Make Smith Level two lanes with a grass median and 8-foot shoulders north from BPW Club Road to the bridge over Morgan Creek (which is just south of the N.C. 54 Bypass)
Not sure what happens next as the ball is back in Carrboro's court, but suffice it to say that this is a very positive signal from NCDOT in terms of a new openness to community input in roadway design. I'm looking forward to see what happens next.
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