After a few delays, the Town of Chapel Hill announced that the demolition of the Rosemary Street Parking Deck will begin Saturday, July 31.

The demolition of the parking deck is the first step towards the East Rosemary Street Redevelopment project, which includes the demolition of the existing “CVS” parking deck to construct a new, seven-story parking deck with roughly 1,100 parking spots.

During the initial phase of the demolition process, contractors for the town will close East Rosemary Street to through traffic from North Columbia Street to Henderson Street from Saturday, July 31 through Sunday, August 1.

First steps include the removal of the inactive pedestrian bridge over East Rosemary Street. The town said all work is being conducted over the weekend to limit disruptions to this area of downtown and will be “dependent upon favorable weather.”

The inactive pedestrian bridge over East Rosemary Street to be demolished (photo via Town of Chapel Hill)

During the demolition process, Franklin Street is the preferred detour to limit traffic on the residential North Street. Town officials say parking will still be available in the Rosemary Street surface lot and the Wallace Parking Deck.

The pedestrian bridge to come down has been inactive since mid-April 2018, when a truck unintentionally struck the bridge causing structural damage. The new project will not involve a bridge over Rosemary Street.

Additionally, the contractor will soon begin installing fencing around the Rosemary Deck in preparation for its demolition. The sidewalk on the north side of East Rosemary Street will be closed to pedestrians and detour signs will be in place.

At a later date, the East Rosemary Street Development also includes the demolition of the existing 309-space Wallace parking deck and construction of approximately 250,000 square feet of office and lab space.

Lead photo via Town of Chapel Hill.


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