Construction on the Estes Drive and North Greensboro Street roundabout in Carrboro is continuing, as North Carolina Department of Transportation workers aim to stay on schedule.

But the project is presenting challenges to nearby residents, as people either travel through the area or work from home. Residents have recently been sending traffic complaints to the town government, while others have been contacting them and the NCDOT about noise disruptions coming from the project.

Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle recently spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about these issues. She said is aware of the problems it can create, especially as residents try to stay home amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I know it’s still a big disturbance to the folks who live around there,” Lavelle said, “especially now when kids are trying to learn [with school restarting.]”

The mayor said the town knew such an expansive project at a well-traveled intersection would cause challenges no matter the circumstances. Construction at the Estes and North Greensboro intersection has been nearly constant since last August. In addition to building a traffic roundabout, replacement of a stormwater channel under the street is also being conducted and creating noise.

“We’re trying to do what we can to move it along and finished as soon as we can,” said Lavelle. “We always knew it would be a challenge in some way or another. This is just the weird way that it’s a positive and a negative having it done [during a pandemic.] There’s really no way to get around it except powering through it.”

While there were entire closures to the road just a few months ago, Lavelle said a new stretch of work on the water pipes will again require intensive work for the next few weeks. She said motorists should expect more lane closures in the area, which will likely cause traffic congestion.

“There’s going to be additional flaggers helping with traffic flow, but in general, there’s definitely going to be more delay,” said the mayor. “For people who have been able to sneak through there quickly or think it hasn’t been too bad, over the course of the next couple weeks you might want to avoid that area altogether.”

Construction on the Estes Drive/ North Greensboro roundabout is expected to be completed by September 2021. More information about the ongoing project can be found on the Town of Carrboro website.

Photo via the Department of Transportation.

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