Agenda - 10-21-2003-5b - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

ATTACHMENT 1 8 Orange County requests that, if funding cannot be secured through other transportation programs, this project include widening the bridge on Orange Grove Road over I-40 to provide safe access for bicycle and pedestrian traffic over the interstate as recommended in the Orange Grove Road Study recently executed by a joint committee made up of Orange County and Town of Hillsborough Commissioners and staff from Orange County and Hillsborough Planning Departments, Orange County Economic Development Department, and NCDOT. Orange County also requests that NCDOT landscape interchanges for this project in an aesthetic manner. B. I-305: widening of I-85 to six lanes and reco at Hillsborough to Durham County Line I-40 Orange County is opposed to any widening of I-85 through Orange County unless there is a commitment by NCDOT to provide HOV and/or dedicated bus lanes. Orange County requests that its staff be allowed to participate in the planning of the facility. The County is specifically interested in the following infrastructure improvements as they relate to the I-85/US 70 Economic Development District: 1. Erosion Control Measures -Orange County requests that permanent erosion control measures be included in the project. 2. Landscaping of Interchanges -Orange County requests that NCDOT landscape all reconstructed interchanges in an aesthetic manner. 3. Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities -Orange County requests that its staff be allowed to participate in the determination of where and what type of facilities are to be included in this project. Among the features requested for inclusion are sidewalks and bike lanes (see the Regional Bicycle Plan for Durham and Orange Counties) along roads where interchange improvements are required and adequate guardrails on overpasses. 4. Wildlife Corridor Under I-85 (in the vicinity of US70 Interchange) -Orange County requests that its staff be allowed to participate during the planning stage and that this issue be brought to the attention of the NCDOT Staff Biologist. Constructing this wildlife corridor is one of the recommendations presented in the "The New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan: Proposals for Linking Duke Forest and Eno River State Park." Orange County also requests that NCDOT consult county staff in designing the interchange at US 70 to provide a pedestrian trail under I-85 linking New Hope Creek and the Eno River (New Hope Rustic Woodland Trail proposed as an element of the Lands Legacy Program).