U.S. 64 project delayed

Murphy The state has delayed construction of a roundabout on U.S. 64 West, giving local residents one more shot in October at getting state highway engineers to change their minds about the project.

An unidentified “subject matter expert” at the N.C. Department of Transportation, in response to an inquiry about the status of the roundabout, responded, “The roundabout is currently in design phase and will be added to the construction soon.”

DOT spokesman David Uchiyama said the delay of the U.S. 64 roundabout was for administrative reasons and not affected by public outcry. Uchiyama said the roundabout was removed from the project so construction contractors can finish the original paving job and insurance paperwork.

“The current contract will conclude without construction of the roundabout,” Uchiyama said. “We anticipate sending a news release in the coming weeks to advertise a public meeting to be held, probably, in the second week of October. This meeting will be set up to take public comment concerning the roundabout.”

The DOT’s purpose for the roundabout is to improve safety. A five-year crash history of the 1.2-mile stretch of U.S. 64 in the project had 67 traffic accidents, according to a memo from division engineer Wanda Payne.

Payne said the original U.S. 64 project – without a roundabout – was coordinated with Cherokee County and funded in 2015. Following a public hearing in 2016, the project would create four wide traffic lanes and a fifth center turn lane on a 1.2-mile stretch of U.S. 64 with a speed limit of 40-50 mph.

The project made improvements to Old Ranger Road that included sidewalks, curb and gutter, crosswalks and handicap ramps.

The $11.3 million project had a start date in 2019 and scheduled completion of October 2023. With this decision, the project will conclude on time.

In 2017, county commissioners requested a connector road be added from U.S. 64 West across from Marks Drive to Old Ranger Road with a traffic signal. The new intersection would serve an Emergency Medical Services station off Marks Drive that was being planned. Smith Hollow, a private road just west of Marks Drive, would be combined with Marks Drive into a single street at the new intersection.

The location for the EMS station was moved to Peachtree Street, and the traffic signal at the new intersection was canceled. Payne said county commissioners requested a safety study, and the DOT added a roundabout to address concerns.

A public hearing for the roundabout was not held at that time, but one was held earlier this year in Murphy that was more informational and less taking public opposition into account. Payne said the projects have been “well vetted with local coordination, public outreach, public safety and sound engineering practices in mind.”

The projects were reviewed by Kittelson (kittelson.com), which she described as a leading engineering firm with expertise in roundabouts. Payne said studies show that roundabouts reduce crashes by 41 percent and fatal injury crashes by 79 percent.

In February, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners issued a resolution opposing roundabouts around Murphy and called on the DOT to hold live public hearings and suspend further construction. In the resolution, the board called roundabouts “ill-conceived, unnecessary and would only serve to cause traffic congestion and confusion among the motoring public and provide unnecessary dangers to pedestrians.”

The board got its wish to a limited degree, but the DOT maintains it wasn’t because of local opposition, but for, in essence, paperwork, and officials seem determined to move ahead with the roundabout.

In another side project, the intersection of Old Ranger Road and Hiwassee Street was modified to maximize access to Old Ranger Road, while increasing the safety of left turns onto Hiwassee Street.

“The intersection is unusually close to U.S. 64 and Hiwassee Street,” Payne said in her memo. “The site specific details forced the designers to consider other ways to address the safety concerns at this location.”