While many students were on summer break, road crews worked to make sure several major roadways were fully open to traffic in time for the start of the fall semester.
Cameron Avenue
After being closed to traffic for more than three months, East Cameron Avenue has reopened. Sections of the road were closed between Columbia Street and Memorial Hall while OWASA crews installed a new water main.
South Columbia Street
Travel is once again open in both directions on this section of Columbia Street between Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road, but nearly a year’s worth of construction remains. DOT crews will be widening South Columbia Street to include turn lanes, bus pullouts and bike lanes, as well as sidewalks. There will be intermittent lane closures during the construction, but the road will remain open in both directions throughout and no construction will take place during major campus events. Chapel Hill Transit buses are expected to resume their normal routes along South Columbia on Aug. 19.
Smith Level Road
Like the roadwork on South Columbia Street, construction on Smith Level Road will continue until the summer of 2014. The road will remain open in both directions during that time, however, with work crews closing lanes intermittently while the construction continues. DOT crews are widening Smith Level Road between the Morgan Creek Bridge and Rock Haven Road to include bike lanes, turn lanes and a center median. The construction project will also include the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Smith Level Road and Rock Haven Road.
Culbreth Road
The original plans called for reopening this section of Culbreth Road between U.S. 15-501 and Channing Lane on Aug. 26, but heavy rains this summer have delayed that schedule. Work crews have been installing a pedestrian tunnel under Culbreth Road to connect the Morgan Creek Greenway with the Fan Branch Trail. Detours will remain in place for Chapel Hill Transit’s D Route until Culbreth Road is reopened. As a result, the D Route will not serve Culbreth Road, Smith Level Road or the N.C. 54 Bypass (Kingswood Apartments). The Culbreth Road Shuttle will remain in operation until the road is reopened.
Please visit the Town of Chapel Hill’s road construction website for additional information and updates.
Published Aug. 14, 2013.