Murphy The delay of the roundabout on U.S. 64 West does not affect the roundabout planned for downtown Murphy, which is still underway.
Wanda Payne, local division engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, said the DOT was approached by Town of Murphy officials, in coordination with the Town Square Revitalization Project, to implement portions of the town’s vision for downtown.
The DOT was planning to mill and repave downtown streets, so the town took the opportunity to access and replace old water lines first, with the DOT taking it from there.
“The town asked N.C. DOT to model multiple scenarios for the intersection at the center of town including a dedicated left turn lane in each direction and a one-lane roundabout,” according to information at townofmurphync.com. “The model showed that the option of dedicated left turn lanes would have caused more delays downtown. The option that worked the best (and better than the current situation) for traffic flow was a roundabout.”
The current street configuration is four lanes, with diagonal parking and one traffic light at the main intersection. Local residents know the outside lanes are risky in central downtown because of cars pulling out of parking spaces and trucks parked too far out into the lane.
The new configuration will preserve and deepen the diagonal parking and reduce the number of traffic lanes from four to two – one each way – with a center lane available for turning traffic and delivery trucks. Also part of the plan is the traffic circle at the intersection of Hiwassee Street, Valley River Avenue, Tennessee Street and Peachtree Street.
Payne said the downtown roundabout – as well as the U.S. 64 West roundabout – will be designed to accommodate larger vehicles.
“As with other installations across the state,” Payne said in a memo to county commissioners, “pavement markings and signs will assist motorists and pedestrians as they navigate the new design.”
According to the town, benefits include increased pedestrian safety with fewer lanes to cross and a refuge in the middle lane, longer parking spaces, better traffic flow and dedicated space for delivery trucks.
County commissioners who oppose the downtown roundabout said they were not consulted, despite having a major presence downtown with the courthouse and several other buildings containing county offices.
Work on the project is scheduled to begin in the winter through spring. It will affect:
- Hiwassee Street from the center of town to U.S. 64 West;
- Tennessee Street from the center of town to the bridge over the Hiwassee River;
- Peachtree Street from the center of town to U.S. 64;
- Valley River Avenue from the center of town to the Valley River bridge.