Murphy – The U.S. 64 West roundabout project may not be a done deal after all.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is planning to “pause” the proposed roundabout and review it after work is completed on a new intersection at the site. Meanwhile, the new connector road with Old Ranger Road will be opened with a stop sign where it intersects with U.S. 64 West.
“NCDOT Division 14 is planning to pause the proposed roundabout project after the utilities are relocated and the final designs are complete,” the department announced. “… Division 14 will submit the roundabout to the SPOT prioritization process as an independent project.”
SPOT, or Strategic Transportation Prioritization, is the methodology the DOT uses to develop the State Transportation Improvement Program – the agency’s roadmap for highway improvement projects.
The process involves scoring all roadway, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, rail and aviation projects on a number of criteria. Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Rural Planning Organizations and DOT division offices also contribute to the final project score by assigning local priority points to projects.
Over the next year, Division 14 plans to monitor conditions at the intersection of U.S. 64 West at Smith Hollow/Marks Drive and the new connector road to Old Ranger Road. If safety concerns arise, the division will re-evaluate the need to construct a roundabout or other safety measure at that location using its budget for safety improvements, the DOT announced in a release.
“NCDOT considers project development to be a collaborative process involving the department and local stakeholders,” the DOT release says. “The division is developing a Public Involvement Plan to better engage the public in safety and maintenance projects and will follow this plan going forward.”
The roundabout was proposed to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, while calming and slowing traffic along the corridor.
An in-person open-house public meeting was held at Tri-County Community College in Peachtree on Oct. 10. Fifty-three people attended the meeting in person, and the project website was visited more than 250 times. Fifty-six comments were received via the public meeting, website, email and phone calls before the comment period closed on Oct. 24.
Of the 56 comments, 32 expressed concerns about or opposition to the proposed roundabout, 14 expressed support for a roundabout and 10 were about topics other than the proposed roundabout. In addition to comments in favor of or opposed to the proposed roundabout, comments were received on the following topics: other suggestions for corridor improvements, pedestrian safety, seniors and roundabouts, suggestions for other projects in the vicinity and other individual topics.
The roundabout was proposed as part of STIP project R-5735 to improve safety and mobility along the corridor. When the project was brought to the first public meeting in 2016, the connector road to Old Ranger Road was not proposed; instead, stop signs were proposed on Marks Drive and Smith Hollow. When Cherokee County proposed to build an Emergency Medical Services station on Smith Hollow, the project evolved to include the connector road and a signal at the four-way intersection to facilitate first responder egress.
When Cherokee County decided against building the EMS station on Smith Hollow, the installation of a traffic signal at this location was no longer warranted. However, DOT concerns about safety along the corridor remained.
The DOT conducted a traffic analysis in 2022 and recommended a roundabout at the intersection to slow traffic, keep traffic flowing and improve safety. The DOT performed analyses, developed designs and brought the roundabout concept to the public for feedback in 2023.
Feedback was generally opposed to the roundabout, including a resolution by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners opposing any roundabouts.
Plans to create a roundabout at the four-way stop in downtown Murphy are still in progress and unaffected by the pause on the U.S. 64 West roundabout.