The extensive repaving and resurfacing along sections of West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill and East Main Street in Carrboro will begin next week, according to a release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

While the Town of Chapel Hill has already conducted some work to curbs and removed the bollards for extended sidewalks, state contractors will officially begin their part of the project with utility work on Monday, May 23. The repaving and restriping process will start closer to June, with the project expected to run through mid-August, according to NCDOT.

 

Resurfacing and restriping is a process required on main streets every eight to ten years. It involves scraping the top layers of asphalt off the street, leveling the road and replacing the top layer of asphalt during night-time hours. Then, new lanes can be drawn. A new lane allocation will also be implemented during this project, which will add bike lanes along the road in both towns.

On-street parking spaces will be removed temporarily while contractors strip and repaves a lane and some stretches will be closed along West Franklin Street and East Main Street while the work is being done. But that does not mean the roads will be entirely closed to traffic.

“Most of the work is going to take place at night,” Chapel Hill mayor Pam Hemminger told 97.9 The Hill on May 12. “The road will never be completely closed down, and we’re just trying to balance that all out with getting the job done.”

On the Chapel Hill side, the new bike lanes will be curb-running, as the Town Council discussed in February. The lanes will largely be between parked cars and the curb of the road — except for a stretch in front of the Carolina Square apartments where the lane will run between parked cars and traffic.

The reversion to fine lanes of traffic for the project comes after Franklin Street traffic patterns were shifted during the pandemic, as Chapel Hill created extended sidewalks. Intended to promote social distancing and local small businesses, the sidewalks were along the entire road before being removed from East Franklin Street during the holiday season and now on West Franklin Street in preparation for repaving. Town staff have indicated it’s more likely the extended sidewalks will be reinstalled along West Franklin Street once the restriping is complete.

In its release, the NCDOT urged drivers, cyclists and motorists to use caution while navigating the construction area, “for their own safety and that of the crews that will be working near the open travel lanes.”

 

Featured image via Town of Chapel Hill

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