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6 <br /> DRAFT 28 SEP 95 DRAFT 28 SEP 95 DRAFT 28 SEP 95 DRAFT 28 SEP 95 <br /> - has safety problems associated with turning movements along <br /> its total length, <br /> - has sight distance problems at major intersections, and <br /> - has forecasts of substantial increases in traffic. <br /> In the year 1999 the completed widening of Airport Road will <br /> approximately double the capacity of Airport Road and provide <br /> increased access to the land served by Homestead Road. As a <br /> result of the improvements to Airport Road and the <br /> development pressures in Chapel Hill, this segment of road <br /> will experience a dramatic increase in traffic almost <br /> immediately upon the completion of the improvements to <br /> Airport Road. <br /> In addition, Orange County is scheduled to build a new human <br /> services center during this same time period, and is <br /> concerned about the safety of its clients as they travel on <br /> Homestead Road between the center and Airport Road. There <br /> are severe safety problems associated with turning movements <br /> and sight distance along this section of road. <br /> Since the improvements to Homestead Road are not scheduled to <br /> begin until the year 2002, this means that there will be <br /> approximately three years during which the students and <br /> teachers of Chapel Hill High School and the clients of the <br /> new human services center will be exposed to a much higher <br /> probability of an accident than if Homestead Road had been <br /> improved at the same time as Airport Road. <br /> Therefore, Orange County strongly urges the North Carolina Board <br /> of Transportation to continue to include this project in the 1997- <br /> 2003 TIP and to accelerate construction to the year 1997, because <br /> of the high potential for accidents at the entrances to Chapel <br /> Hill High School or along other sections of the road. <br /> II) 1-305: widening of I-85 to six lanes and reconstruction of <br /> interchanges from Orange Grove Road to Durham County Line - Even <br /> though this project has been changed to an "IDENTIFIED FUTURE <br /> NEED" Orange County requests that its staff be allowed to <br /> participate in the planning of the facility. The County is <br /> specifically interested in the following infrastructure <br /> improvements as they relate to the I-85/US 70 Economic Development <br /> District: <br /> a) Erosion Control Measures - Orange County requests that <br /> permanent erosion control measures be included in the <br /> project. <br /> b) Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities - Orange County requests <br /> that its staff be allowed to participate in the determination <br /> of where and what type of facilities are to be included in <br /> this project. Among the features requested for inclusion are <br /> sidewalks and bike lanes (see the Regional Bicycle Plan for <br /> 2 <br />