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6 . <br /> Y <br /> STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA <br /> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <br /> JAMES B. HUNT JR. P.O.BOX 25201.RALEIGH.N.C. 27611-5201 GARLAND B. GARRETT JR. <br /> GOVERNOR SECRETARY <br /> September 4, 1997 <br /> The Honorable Rosemary Waldorf <br /> Mayor of the Town of Chapel Hill <br /> 306 N. Columbia Street <br /> Chapel Hill,North Carolina 27516-2113 <br /> Dear Mayor Waldorf: <br /> SUBJECT: Homestead Road (SR 1777), From High School Road (SR 1834) to <br /> NC 86, Chapel Hill, Orange County, Federal Aid Project STP-1777(1), <br /> State Project 8.2501101,TIP Project U-2805 <br /> The 1998-2004 NCDOT Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) includes the <br /> widening of the subject section of Homestead Road. The Planning and Environmental <br /> Branch is currently working on the Environmental Assessment for the project; it is <br /> scheduled to be completed in March of 1998. The NCDOT has yet to recommend a <br /> cross-section for the proposed roadway. Meetings between NCDOT and the staff of <br /> Chapel Hill and Orange County (June 11, 1997 TAC meeting and June 25, 1997 Local <br /> Officials Meeting held prior to the Citizens Informational Workshop) have generated <br /> discussions about possible cross-sections. <br /> The Feasibility Study for the subject project, completed in December, 1992; <br /> recommended widening this section of Homestead Road to a five-lane curb and gutter <br /> facility. However, the current TIP calls for the widening of Homestead Road to a three- <br /> lane shoulder facility; bicycle and pedestrian improvements to Homestead Road are <br /> included in the TIP as incidental bicycle and pedestrian needs. The TIP has allocated <br /> $3,500,000 for the project, $1,900,000 for right of way and $1,600,000 for construction. <br /> Right of way acquisition is scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2000, and construction is <br /> scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2001. <br /> Bicycle facilities can be provided for either cross-section. On a three-lane <br /> shoulder section,bicycles would be accommodated by 1.2-meter(4-foot) paved <br /> shoulders; on a five-lane curb and gutter facility, they would be accommodated by wide <br /> (4.2-meter[14-foot]) outside lanes. However,pedestrian facilities in the form of <br />