As the Town of Chapel Hill continues to plan for growth, the parcels of land near U.S. 15-501 and the Durham County line are critical to its vision. But the local government recently received news that could change much of the land in that area.
The state Department of Transportation sent a concept design to change the road’s exchange with Interstate 40 – with an expedited process to explore its feasibility.
The concept shared on May 30 to town staff revealed a ‘diverging diamond’ design for the interchange between U.S. 15-501 and the interstate, which creates a figure-eight traffic flow on the highway with the goal of improving wait times for vehicles. The design also proposes a new road to connect Eastowne Drive in Chapel Hill and New Hope Commons Drive in Durham, which would be accessed by new exit ramps further up I-40. NCDOT said the road’s placement – which would cut through a natural heritage area presently owned by UNC Health and which Chapel Hill’s town council has said it wants to preserve – is also based on traffic flow.
The concept of the U.S. 15-501 redesign the NCDOT shared with Chapel Hill, as presented in the town’s memo to its elected officials. The new roads are in the dark colors, overlaying the existing roadways. (Photo via the North Carolina Department of Transportation.)
Town staff issued a memo with information to council members on May 31, saying with the state department’s fast-tracked process – called an Express Design concept – that local feedback’s deadline was Friday, June 9.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger told 97.9 The Hill that while she believes the proposal is beneficial to the Durham side of 15-501, she’s more skeptical of the design for Chapel Hill – and critical of its timing.
“It was a huge shock,” she said. “It just dropped in our laps. And they all know it was budget season, so that was unfair too.”
The news also comes as the town government and UNC Health are negotiating to determine the best path forward for the health care giant’s land off the highway. UNC Health announced its intentions to build up to ten new medical offices on the site to improve outpatient care in January. The town has yet to approve the project, however, based on council members’ concerns of land preservation and parking.
Hemminger said the health care leaders seemed just as surprised as the town about this proposal from NCDOT.
“We met with [UNC Health] and asked if they knew anything about it, because we’re in negotiations with them,” said the mayor. “But [the plan] also appears to take a lot of exit ramp traffic and dump it right at the front door of their campus. That’s not going to be conducive for patient care and things like that.”
A rendering of UNC Health’s proposed Eastowne Development project as presented in May. The project could include constructing a parking deck on hickory oak forest (far right), a natural heritage site. (Photo via Town of Chapel Hill.)
Hemminger and many of the community’s state representatives penned a letter to the state transportation board on Wednesday sharing initial criticisms of the concept plan. The effects on the Eastowne campus, as well as the natural heritage area, are mentioned.
But also among the chief concerns is the plan’s divergence from local government visions for the corridor. The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization’s long-term goals include moving away from vehicle dependencies, while the Town of Chapel Hill’s Future Land Use Map calls for more pedestrian infrastructure in that part of the town. There are also no transit accommodations along 15-501 in the proposal, which is a major sticking point as Orange and Durham counties are studying the feasibility of a bus rapid transit line along the highway. Hemminger also pointed to the ongoing widening of I-40 by NCDOT as important for the assessment of traffic congestion before redesigning 15-501.
Elected officials are not the only ones lobbying NCDOT about the project. Hemminger said that since the plans were revealed, many community members have been getting in touch with the state department to share their displeasure at the design and process.
“I got a lot of phone calls back from the Department of Transportation saying, ‘Wow, what’s going on?’ Well, people are not happy,” described the Chapel Hill mayor. “So, we’ll see how that shakes out. [NCDOT] want to come for cost estimates before September. We have a lot of work to get done before that kind of stuff happens.”
Hemminger said while the state’s proposal for 15-501 is in its early stages, she believes the surprise and short timeline for feedback will be difficult to shake. She said she hopes the Department of Transportation and the local governments will be more collaborative in the next phases.
“I’ve been assured by the board of transportation leadership,” said Hemminger, “that this is just the beginning of a conversation. But it didn’t feel like a conversation – it felt like a smackdown, almost.
“A design is a long way from implementation,” she continued, “but we want them to redesign. We don’t want them to just try and make this horrible design better.”
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization is set to further discuss the proposed 15-501 changes at its full board meeting on Wednesday, June 14.
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