Orange County NC Website
Minimum Problem Statements – Highway – 6 <br />Southpoint Auto Park Boulevard to Renaissance Parkway, has four to five lanes to accommodate the <br />relatively high traffic volume with turn lanes for I-40 and Renaissance Parkway. The roadway drains to <br />nearby Jordan Lake and there are over twenty fresh water ponds in the corridor. <br /> <br />Improvements are needed to accommodate projected traffic in o rder to maintain a Level of Service D <br />and provide mobility between I-40 and the growing retail, residential and employment development in <br />southern Durham County and eastern Chatham County. Improvements might include adding turn lanes <br />at intersections and widening the current lanes and shoulders at a minimum, or possibly include <br />additional lanes. <br /> <br />It should be noted that a feasibility study (FS-1008B) was started in 2014 for this section of NC 751 that <br />collected field data and produced traffic forecasts. Although the feasibility study was not completed, it <br />can provide details on the need for safety and capacity improvements on this roadway. <br /> <br />This problem statement presents the roadway in four different sections below. <br /> <br />The southern section, from Martha’s Chapel Road (SR 1752) to O’Kelly Chapel Road (SR 1731), is a two- <br />lane major collector with turn lanes at some intersections. It mostly has a 60-foot right-of-way but some <br />subsections have 90-foot and even 200-foot right-of-way sections. The area is rural but has occasional <br />churches and small scale commercial development such as nurseries. The 2012 AADT is 8,300 vehicles <br />per day (vpd) and this volume has been about the same since 2003. The capacity is 12,400 vpd at LOS D. <br />Although the current volume is well within capacity, the high peak volume split (75%) and the narrow <br />rural roadway (24 feet overall width) combine to create safety hazards and congestion that is not <br />common on rural highways. The 2040 volume is expected to increase to 14,000, or a 1.1 V/C ratio, <br />which will worsen the safety and congestion problems. It is recommended that this southern section be <br />widened to a four-lane divided boulevard facility. <br /> <br />The middle section, from O’Kelly Chapel Road to Renaissance Parkway, is a two-lane major thoroughfare <br />with turn lanes at intersections. It mostly has a 60-foot right-of-way but some subsections have up to <br />90-foot, and the overall road width is 19 feet to 24 feet. It should be noted that this section connects to <br />two east-west roads, Stagecoach Road (SR 1107) and O’Kelly Chapel Road, that provide travelers with a <br />southern alternative to congested I-40 and NC 54. The area is a mixture of residential and <br />retail/commercial, and there is ample undeveloped land that is developing at suburban densities. <br />Recent development includes large single-family or multi-family development. <br /> <br />The 2013 AADT ranges from 9,700 vpd at the southern end to 13,000 vpd at the northern end. The <br />capacity is 12,700 vpd at LOS D. Although the current volume is close to capacity, the high peak volume <br />split (65% to 75%), the narrow overall roadway, and multiple driveways and intersections combine to <br />create many safety hazards and congestion. The 2040 volume is expected to be 18,000 vpd to 21,000 <br />vpd, resulting in a 1.4 to 1.8 V/C ratio that will increase delay. <br /> <br />The section adjacent to I-40, from Renaissance Parkway to Southpoint Autopark Boulevard, is a four - <br />lane major thoroughfare south of I-40 and a four-lane divided boulevard north of I-40. It has many right <br />turn slip lanes and double left turn lanes at the I-40 and Renaissance Parkway intersections to <br />accommodate traffic to nearby South Pointe Mall and the adjacent big box and chain retail stores, and <br />growing office developments. Local planners do not anticipate further widening of this roadway section <br />because the roadway in some locations are close to buildings and the area to the west is mostly <br />unbuildable given its proximity to Third Fork Creek and New Hope Creek.