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3 b <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ADEQUATE BRIDGE LENGTH AND <br /> VERTICAL CLEARANCE FOR <br /> US 151501 CROSSING OF NEW HOPE CREEK <br /> WHEREAS , the State of North Carolina Department of Transportation ( NCDOT ) <br /> in TIP Project U4012 plans to expand US 15/501 to six lanes between Mt . <br /> Moriah Road and Garrett Road and such expansion will require removing and <br /> rebuilding the bridge across New Hope Creek in this area ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the State of North Carolina Department of Transportation has <br /> issued an Environmental Assessment dated July 7 , 2002 in which the <br /> recommended bridge alternative has a height of 8 feet , a length of 205 feet and a <br /> width of 122 feet ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Orange County has adopted the New Hope Creek Corridor <br /> Preservation Plan and such plans anticipate the portion of the New Hope Creek <br /> corridor crossed by the bridge will provide both recreation trail and wildlife <br /> corridor amenities ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the New Hope Creek Corridor is recognized as providing a <br /> regionally significant wildlife corridor in the Piedmont by the State of North <br /> Carolina ' s Natural Heritage Program ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the NCDOT- recommended alternative combination of bridge length , <br /> height and width provides a wildlife crossing that is less protective than <br /> other bridges NCDOT has under construction in the New Hope Creek <br /> watershed and provides less wildlife protection than that called for in the most <br /> recent scientific literature ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the NCDOT- recommended alternative is less protective than that <br /> recommended by the State of North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission , <br /> the City of Durham , Durham County , the Town of Chapel Hill , the New Hope <br /> Creek Corridor Advisory Committee , the Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro <br /> Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Advisory Committee and <br /> others (the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission and the New Hope <br /> Audubon Society ) ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the NCDOT- recommended alternative bridge height is below that of <br /> the existing bridge , is below the recommended height for trail crossings <br /> in the Federal Highway Administration Enhancement Program as well as the <br /> standards of the American Society of Transportation Officials , is below the height <br /> of NCDOT' s 140 crossing of New Hope Creek that is presently under <br /> construction , is below the height recommended by the organizations mentioned <br />