What is planned to reduce impact on homeowners along the edges of the construction zone (i.e. to minimize noise, protect property and privacy, etc.)?
The roadway plans establish limits of construction where tree protection fencing and silt fencing is required. There will also be limits on the time of day construction is permitted to take place with no plans for nighttime work. Construction activity is not permitted on private property without easements being acquired ahead of time.
When do you expect construction impacts (i.e. road closures/detours/etc.) to begin for the Peakway and S. Salem Street? Will both Peakway and S. Salem close at the same time?
We anticipate closure of the Peakway from Towhee Drive to Salem Street to begin when construction starts, and last for the entire period of construction. The detour route includes Olive Chapel Road, Williams Street (NC 55), and Salem Street. Salem Street will remain open, except as needed using flagging operations to halt traffic when bridge construction is underway, primarily to lift steel girders into place.
What entrance(s) of Whitehall Manor will remain open during construction, to allow timely access of emergency services (fire, EMS), as well as access for deliveries, trucks, service vehicles, etc.
Grappenhall Drive at Salem Street, Grappenhall Drive at Peakway, and Whiston Drive to Green at Scotts Mill (providing local access to Town Side Drive) will remain open, so three out of the four existing routes will remain available.
Will Towhee Drive remain open at the Peakway, or is it being closed?
Towhee Drive will be closed during construction, but reopen as a right-in / right-out access on both sides of the Peakway, still serving Whitehall Manor to the west and Shangri-La to the east.
What plans are in place to prevent excessive cut-through traffic in Whitehall Manor during the construction?
Once the Peakway is closed at S. Salem, town staff will be studying Grappenhall Drive and Applethorn Drive, and implementing temporary traffic calming measures (speed humps) if volumes and speeds meet the Town’s adopted traffic calming criteria. The criteria is 100 vehicles during an hour when average speeds exceed 30 mph.
When will the intersection of Tingen Road and Salem Street be closed? What are plans to relieve congestion and reroute traffic off of Tingen?
Tingen Road will be permanently closed at the railroad crossing once the Peakway SW Connector is complete and open to traffic. In the interim, a temporary traffic signal was installed at the Tingen Road / Justice Heights Street intersection with S. Salem Street.
James Street between Tingen Road and Apex Peakway was planned and constructed as a major collector street to accommodate future additional traffic.
What measures are being taken both from a capacity planning and infrastructure perspective to ensure that we do not need to do costly upgrades in the future?
Design year 2040 traffic projections were used to evaluate traffic capacity of the bridge, loop, and Salem Street. The bridge will be constructed as a 4-lane structure with wide sidewalks on both sides based on long term plans for a 4-lane Peakway ultimate section to continue further north and south of the bridge. The loop connector to Salem Street will be constructed as a 4-lane road and dual left turn lanes will be constructed on Salem Street approaching the loop. Additional Peakway or Salem Street widening beyond the scope of this project is not needed or funded within the design year horizon at this time.