UPDATE: The Town of Chapel Hill reopened East Franklin Street at its intersection with Elliott Road around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The local government said cleanup crews are still working in the area of North Elliott Road, which does remain closed in both directions in front of Chapel Hill Fire Station 3. 

Duke Energy reported most of the remaining customers without power had also seen their service restored by 3 p.m.

A fallen tree in Chapel Hill knocked out power for hundreds of customers late on Tuesday night, with repair and clearance efforts still ongoing into Wednesday.

Photo via Mary Huff.

An alert from the town government notified residents about a tree down around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with no injuries reported from its fall. It did, however, taken down power lines with it and Duke Energy arrived overnight to work on repairs. According to Duke Energy’s outage map, around 800 customers were affected, stretching from East Franklin Street’s merger with 15-501 to downtown Chapel Hill.

A screenshot of Duke Energy’s power outage map showing the outage in Chapel Hill Wednesday morning.

At 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Duke Energy had the estimated time of restoration for the area listed as 12 p.m.

As of Wednesday morning, East Franklin Street remained closed at Elliott Road and traffic signals were out along East Franklin between the Eastgate Crossing shopping center and Hillsborough Street. The town said it is working to use generator power to temporarily restore traffic signals at busy intersections. Chapel Hill reminded travelers, however, to treat any intersections without power as a four-way stop, with each vehicle moving through the intersection in the order they stopped.

Town staff encouraged community members to detour the area using Fordham Boulevard to Highway 54 until repairs and clearance is finished.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

 

Related Stories
‹
Damage from Tropical Storm Debby Leads to Power Outages in Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties
As the storm moved through North Carolina on Thursday, several communities in Orange, Chatham and Durham Counties reported losing power.
Power Outages Continue for Chapel Hill, Durham Residents; Police Share Road Closure Updates
UPDATE: In the wake of a severe storm, many residents in Chapel Hill and Durham remained without power on Wednesday morning, and local emergency services and governments continued to provide closure information and safety tips. Durham County, which energy provider Duke Energy said was one of the hardest-hit areas in North Carolina from high winds, […]
Adverse Weather Leads to Flood Warning, Power Outages in Orange and Chatham Counties
The string of storms moving across the southeast caused some adverse conditions in the Triangle, with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham among the areas issued alerts from the National Weather Service. A flash flood warning was in effect for several hours on Friday in the towns, as rain caused rapid rises in creeks and streams. […]
Downed Power Lines Briefly Divert Traffic, Cause Outage Along E. Franklin Street
A downed power line along a popular Chapel Hill road means traffic briefly diverted traffic on Tuesday morning as repairs were made. An alert shared by the Town of Chapel Hill said a stretch of East Franklin Street was closed after a truck snagged nearby utility lines and dragged them down. Police closed the road […]
Duke Energy Restores Power for 2K Customers in East Chapel Hill
UPDATE: Duke Energy shared that the outage was resolved shortly before 3 p.m.  A power outage along the Chapel Hill-Durham line is causing some issues for hundreds of residents. Duke Energy reported an outage in the Falconbridge and Downing Creek neighborhoods and along parts of Farrington Road, saying around 1,900 customers are experiencing a loss […]
Downed Tree Causes Power Outages, Forces Closure of Country Club Road in Chapel Hill
UPDATE: As of 7:30 p.m., Duke Energy says power has been restored along Raleigh Road and in the surrounding areas of UNC campus. Country Club Road on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill is closed due to a downed tree on a power line, according to the Chapel Hill Police. #CHtraffic Alert: Country Club Rd […]
Fallen Tree Along Franklin Street Knocks Out Chapel Hill Power
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect power being restored for those customers affected on Monday. Nearly 2,000 Duke Energy customers experienced a power outage in Chapel Hill Monday morning due to a fallen tree on a power line. A message from the Chapel Hill Police Department alerted the community to the fallen […]
More Than 2,000 Chapel Hill Residents Lose Power on Friday
Hundreds of Chapel Hill residents lost power Friday night as Duke Energy repairs a utility line damaged from a car crash. Duke Energy reported more than 2,800 customers experienced outages shortly after 7 p.m., ranging from neighborhoods along Dobbins Drive to parts of East Franklin Street. UPDATE: Power is out in the area of #EastFranklinSt […]
Storm Knocks Out Power for Thousands in Chapel Hill, Durham
UPDATE: Power was restored for all of these listed outages by Sunday morning.  Thousands of Chapel Hill and Durham residents are without power Saturday evening following a severe thunderstorm in the region. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Chatham, Durham and Wake Counties through 6:35 p.m. Saturday. As the […]
Early-Morning Crash Shuts Down East Franklin Street
A crash on East Franklin Street at Roosevelt Drive, just east of downtown, knocked down an electrical pole and power lines.
›