Raleigh St. to close to traffic beginning June 20

One of the busiest roads on campus will be closed for about a month, starting in less than two weeks.

The University’s Department of Public Safety will close down a busy portion of Raleigh Street — from Country Club Road to East Franklin Street — starting June 20 to replace existing stormwater pipes.

A study of the University’s stormwater system found that many of the pipes on Raleigh Street were clogged or collapsed, causing the street and sometimes Coker Arboretum to flood, said Keith Snead, a mechanical engineer for UNC.

“We continue to have flooding and that’s especially concerning when you have cars parked on Raleigh Street and that area,” he said.

The project, which is scheduled to last until July 29, will replace failing clay pipes with more durable pipes and add catch basins to handle additional stormwater flow.

Snead said the University chose to undertake the project during the summer months because of the reduced traffic flow while school is out of session.

Bus and traffic detours will be used to redirect traffic during the road closing, Snead said.

Bus routes that run on Raleigh Road, like the A and U buses, will be redirected to Battle Lane.

Snead said access to residence halls along Raleigh Street will not be restricted, and at least one sidewalk will remain open during the construction period.

Jenny McDaniel, supervisor at the package center in Spencer Residence Hall on Raleigh Street, said she first heard about the project in early May.

She said she was initially concerned about how the center would get mail carriers into the building with street closures blocking the center’s parking lot.

McDaniel said she takes a bus to work, but her route will not be affected by the construction.

“I’m not too concerned as long as I can get to work,” she said. “It’s a pretty popular road, but there are other ways into campus.”

The University and the Town of Chapel Hill are partnering to share the cost of the project.

The University will contribute the majority of the funding, totaling about $330,000, while the town will fund about $70,000.

Sue Burke, a stormwater engineer for the town, said this is one of the first times the town has worked with the University on a project like this.

While the University is responsible for managing the project, the town reviewed many of the components of the plan, including how to control traffic.

Snead said the project has received high priority on the University’s list of projects because of the damage it could cause to the street and the cars parked on it.

Burke said the project has needed to be done for several years, and waiting could have been dangerous.

“The road possibly could have caved in,” she said. “When that would occur is kind of hard to predict.”

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