By ANA RISANO
Staff Writer
The regional planning organization has initiated its annual practice of prioritizing road projects for funding. One long-debated and controversial plan — creating a western connecting road — was dropped on the table but quickly filed back into the past.
The advisory committee to the Sandhills Metropolitan Planning Organization recently discussed potential projects for the State Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP, looking at road data for traffic capacity and safety.
Projects included new ideas to improve intersections and unearthed previously discussed plans like the western connector. A concept stemming from 1990, the connector was last proposed as a four-lane highway designed to funnel traffic between U.S. 1 south of Aberdeen and N.C. 211 west of Pinehurst — and reduce traffic on N.C. 5 and the Pinehurst Traffic Circle.
Roughly two decades passed before the idea resurfaced in 2011 and captured the minds of local officials and residents for several years. It was listed in the Moore County Comprehensive Transportation Plan in 2018.
But a main component of the debate focused on whether such a road would actually alleviate congestion on N.C. 5. While part of that road is undergoing a widening today, the section in Pinehurst bottlenecks as a two-lane road hemmed in by rail lines, golf courses and expensive homes.
Ideally, a western connector would efficiently move through-traffic by an alternative route that now largely uses N.C. 5. But over all the years of western connector debate, it was never clear how much of that traffic was local in nature and how much was through-traffic. There were also concerns that building a western connector could stimulate significant development and urban sprawl that does not exist today.
SMPO Director Scott Walston advised the committee to consider the project as part of his presentation on the STIP, which guides how and when transportation projects are expected to be funded over a 10-year period. The prioritization period the SMPO is engaging in is for the 2028-2037 program.
Walston gave a rundown of the process to the group of municipal managers, planners and DOT officials for the SMPO area. That covers Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pinebluff, Taylortown, Whispering Pines and parts of Moore County.
In short, the SMPO has been charged with identifying project lists for various transportation modes to forward to the DOT to score based on traffic data and crash reports. The higher the score, the more important the project. Then, the SMPO will have another chance to look at the scored projects and apply what are called local “points” to boost projects for STIP placement and funding.
“If you look at past (STIP) scores, the western connector was the highest scoring in the regional impact category,” Walston said.
Almost immediately, Pinehurst Village Manager Doug Willardson noted the contentiousness of the project and that an exact route was never established. Now, the vague area it was planned for is set to be a major subdivision.
“This has definitely been a very contentious subject in the area,” Willardson said. “And this is just my opinion, but I also think that between Hoffman Road and Roseland Road, there is basically a western connector already there. I don’t see a very expensive western connector making that much of a difference for N.C. 5 or the Traffic Circle — the current problems we have here in Pinehurst.”
Walston, who was part of the NCDOT when this was last discussed and was involved in studying the project, said those roadways did not present a good alternative to pull traffic off N.C. 5 when modeled with 2013 data.
Willardson restated his stance and, understanding the project being a hot topic for the community, wondered aloud if it was something that should stay in the past. Instead, he said he would like to see how changes at the Pinehurst Traffic Circle may alleviate some local traffic congestion.
Aberdeen Town Manager Paul Sabiston said he would like to re-examine the models for ways to address traffic on N.C. 5, sharing that even when he builds additional time into his drive, he pulls into Pinehurst later than planned.
“We can’t just say no, no, no,” Sabiston said. “We’ve got to do something.”
Willardson then proposed the committee and DOT look into a N.C. 5 relief alternative to address congestion, rather than reintroduce the western connector.
“Maybe it’s not an alternate route,” Willardson said, suggesting maybe it’s a combination of road improvements. “I don’t want this to be the only option.”
With that idea, another project left unfunded on a previous STIP was raised: What if the committee submitted a shorter connecting route between N.C. 211 in Aberdeen and Roseland Road near the DMV?
While it doesn’t address the heart of the congestion problem, it cleans up an area that may be feeding into the issue. Currently, N.C. 211 connects to U.S. 15-501. To access the northwestern part of the state, drivers need to turn right onto U.S. 15-501 toward U.S. 1. From there, an easy path is to take another right onto U.S. 1 and then a left onto N.C. 5.
“It creates the direct connection between (N.C.) 211 and U.S. 1 and eliminates the dogleg,” DOT engineer Bryan Klutchar said.
The committee decided to drop the western connector and replace it with this smaller project for recommended submission to the DOT. The complete list of highway projects included:
- creating a superstreet on U.S. 1 between N.C. 2 and Camp Easter Road with updated intersections;
- creating a new route for N.C. 211 in Aberdeen to connect with the Roseland Road intersection at U.S. 1;
- updating the intersection of N.C. 211 with Rattlesnake Drive in Pinehurst;
- converting the all-way stop at N.C. 22 and McCaskill Road heading toward Carthage to a roundabout;
- increasing capacity of N.C. 22 between Pee Dee Road and Airport Drive with designated turn lanes and updated intersections;
- increasing capacity of Airport Road between N.C. 2 and N.C. 22 with turn lanes;
- upgrading the intersection of Indiana Avenue and May Street in Southern Pines with turn lanes;
- upgrading the four-way stop intersection of Indiana Avenue and Fort Bragg Road in Southern Pines; and
- upgrading the intersection of N.C. 2, Pee Dee Road and West Pennsylvania Avenue in Southern Pines.
The committee also settled on recommending nine bike and pedestrian projects that would add sidewalks or extend greenways in Aberdeen, Southern Pines and Pinehurst; three airport projects that would support current operations; and six rail projects to update road crossings. A few projects were also supported regarding county-wide public transportation, but the committee asked for clearer plans.
The advising committee plans to forward these prioritized lists to the SMPO Governing Board to consider. The Governing Board is expected to release the draft list for public review at its Aug. 20 meeting. Then, a public hearing is scheduled for its Sept. 17 meeting before the board sends the priority projects to the DOT for scoring.
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
