RES-2005-042 Providing Comments Regarding Draft 2006 - 2012 State Transportation Improvement Program

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3 frontage roads, the feasibility study include the addition of frontage roads with limited access from the corridor. Development of Waterstone, a 337-acre mixed use development, is underway off the east side of South Churton Street in the Hillsborough Economic Development District north of I-40. Current (2003) Average Annual Daily Traffic counts on Churton Street in this corridor vary from 11,000 just north of I-40 to 1.5,000 south of I-85 to 19,000 south of the Eno River. Traffic is expected to increase dramatically as Waterstone's 134 single-family houses, 128 town home/patio homes, 271 apartments, 450,000 square feet of retail space, 408,000 square feet of mixed use, 150,000 square feet of office space, a 20-acre community college site, and more, are completed. Another approved development on S. Churton Street, Oakdale Village, will add over 122,000 square feet of retail and office development on the west side of Churton Street north of Oakdale Drive. The developers of both projects will make some improvements on South Churton Street, and plans should be coordinated to provide the facilities as recommended in the feasibility study for this corridor. F. US 70 Bypass Widening: Widen, from the Orange/Durham County Line to the US 70 - I-85 Connector east of Efland, US 70 Bypass to a four-lane divided section with bike and pedestrian improvements. This project should be phased to address traffic counts and existing congestion. The Draft 2006-2012 STIP does not include this project. G. NC 86 (North of Hillsborough) Improvements: Widen NC 86, from US 70 Bypass north of Hillsborough to SR 1332, Coleman Loop (Coleman Loop also being the intersection area of the planned connector between NC 86 and NC 57), to four lanes with intersection improvements at US 70 Bypass. The Draft 2006-2012 STIP does not include this project. Orange County requests that this project be identified as a need and included in the 2006-2012 STIP. The crash rate (for the three-year period from January 1, 2001, to December 31~, 2003) on the segment of NC 86 from US 70 Bypass to NC 57 was 1147 crashes per 100-million vehicle miles, compared to an average 217 crashes per 100-million vehicle miles on NC routes in Orange County for the same three-year period. NC 86 is the major north-south route through Orange County. NC 57 converges into US 86 just north of US 70 Bypass. The segment of NC 86 between NC 57 and US 70 is congested, rendering a high accident location at the intersection of US 70 Bypass at NC 86. Development north of Orange County (in Caswell and Person Counties) will exacerbate traffic congestion and accident proliferation. II. Comments on Project U-3808, Elizabeth Brady Road Extension: South Of US 70 Business to north of US 70 Bypass at SR 1002 (St. Mary's Road), construct multilanes with new crossing of Eno River.