April 26, 2006

Published in Wake Forest, NC

            Wake Forest, with the help of federal funds funneled through the state, is about to build two sidewalk sections near the seminary campus, but the first step will be to remove some trees in the way.

            The sidewalks, each 5 feet wide, will be 480 feet on the east side of Front Street from the Roosevelt Avenue underpass to the intersection of Front and North Avenue, and 1,200 feet on the south side of Stadium Drive from North Wingate Street to past Judson Drive.

            Town crews will remove one large oak at Front and North. They were to remove some trees on the seminary property, but a Raleigh landscape firm, Realiscape, asked Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary for the seven small maples and 13 crape myrtles. The firm will dig up the trees and plant them elsewhere.

            “It will give us a chance to plant canopy trees,” planner Lisa Potts said. She plans 21 shade trees along the Durham Road sidewalk, a mix of oaks, maples and elms. “When you’re walking to class, you want some shade.

            The town has a $99,800 grant through the North Carolina Department of Transportation Enhancement Program. It was given on a cost-reimbursement basis. The town has to pay the full cost for engineering, design and construction and then can be reimbursed for up to 80 percent of the cost. The town’s share will be $19,960. The state is then reimbursed by the federal government.

            The tree removal and transplanting will begin within two weeks, and sidewalk construction is planned to begin May 15.

* * * *

            There is a new date for the next leg of the N.C. 98 bypass to open, but it still may change if there is bad weather – no one could complain about rain – or some other holdup.

            The state Department of Transportation has told the town that the second leg, from South Main Street to Capital Boulevard, will open to traffic June 8.

            A month before the contractor, S.T. Wooten will close both Retail and Galaxy drives on May 8 after different outlets from Capital Plaza Shopping Center (Home Depot and Target) and Lowe’s Home Improvement, respectively, have been completed.

            There will still be minor work from June 8 until July 7, the tentative date to complete the project.

            The contract for $21,211,427 was let in late 2003 and work began early in 2004.

            If you want to keep abreast of road projects, you can go to the town’s web site at www.wakeforestnc.gov/residents/engineering_

roadandconstructionprojects.aspx.

* * * *

            South Main Street from Capital Boulevard to the N.C. 98 bypass will be paved at some point this spring and summer. The state has let contracts for paving projects in Northern Wake County, and the repaving of N.C. 98 from Capital Boulevard to the roundabout under construction at the seminary is also on the list. The contractor will not pave a portion of South Main between Rogers Road and Forbes Road because the town plans to widen that section to five lanes this year. Work on that section is expected to begin this fall just after motorists have experienced a short respite from work zones.

* * * *

            The roundabout where South Main Street meets South Avenue (N.C. 98) at the seminary should open to allow traffic to enter, merge and exit without stop signs this week. There is still work to be done on the interior circle, and it will take another 10 weeks to complete it.    

* * * *

            Stadium Drive is closed to through traffic until the end of August while Balfour Beatty Construction Inc. tears down the existing bridge and builds a new one 40 feet wide. The contract with the state Department of Transportation is for $1.1 million.

            The DOT web site gives directions about using Harris Road and North Main Street as the detour although another route is Durham Road (N.C. 98).

* * * *

            Work has begun on the next section of the Smith Creek Greenway, this one 1,500 feet from the Smith Creek Soccer Center to Rogers Road. A 60-foot bridge will link the new section with the existing greenway section in the soccer center.

            The Smith Creek Greenway, which will eventually be a 7-mile corridor from the Franklin County line to the Neuse River, is the town’s number-one greenway priority. Along with the sections described above, there is an existing paved section that runs three-fourths of a mile from Burlington Mills Road to the river. The town has acquired much of the right-of-way for other sections through negotiations with subdivision developers.

* * * *

            The North Allen Road sidewalk is finished, and the street has been widened and resurfaced. New curb and gutter has also been added. The sidewalk provides access to Juniper Avenue, which has a sidewalk that extends to Ailey Young Park.

            One of the town’s next major sidewalk projects is one along North White Street to Flaherty Park.

* * * *

            The town is still drawing plans for the two roundabouts on South Franklin Street at Holding Avenue and Elm Avenue. There will be a public meeting for comments when the plans are about 70 percent complete.

* * * *

            When the N.C. 98 bypass is complete from Jones Dairy Road to Thompson Mill Road, there will be nine traffic signals on the 4.8-mile limited-access road.

            There will be the set at Jones Dairy Road and business N.C. 98 (Wait Avenue); a set where Heritage Lake Road intersects but does not cross the bypass (and you can already see the clearing for the road); a set at Franklin Street but not, perhaps, until that street is extended into Heritage; the current signals at South Main Street; a set at Ligon Mill Road when it is extended; a set at Capital Boulevard; and signals in Wakefield, at the realigned Falls of the Neuse Road, and at Thompson Mill.

            Planning Director Chip Russell said there is still a question whether Siena Drive – which has sections north and south of the bypass already – will be connected. That could be the tenth intersection with traffic signals.

* * * *

            The traffic signal on Rogers Road at the entrance to Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle School is still slated to be installed this spring. Mayor Vivian Jones and other town commissioners vigorously lobbied for the signal, and state Sen. Neal Hunt was instrumental in getting it approved by DOT.