South Columbia to get turn, bike lanes

A section of South Columbia Street will soon rumble with the noises of construction when Triangle Grading and Paving Inc. arrives on Nov. 26.

On Friday, Gene Conti, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, approved a $4.56 million contract to widen a 0.8 mile section of South Columbia Street near UNC Hospitals. Widening will occur from Manning Drive to Purefoy Road.

The plan calls for the construction of bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the road as well as bus pullouts.

The road will remain one-lane on each side, but a turn lane will be added in the center.

Burlington-based Triangle Grading and Paving will start on the project on Nov. 26 and continue through July 2014.

Kumar Neppalli, town engineering services manager, described Columbia Street as a main entrance into the town and UNC’s campus.

He said the project will improve the commute into town for all modes of transportation — vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian.

But the project will be lengthy, and it is projected to take more than a year and a half to complete.

“It’s less than a mile of road, but there’s gonna be a one-way detour,” said Arnold Mann, estimator for Triangle Grading and Paving.

From April to September 2013, traffic on South Columbia Street will run only one-way from Fordham Boulevard toward Manning Drive.

A detour will direct outbound traffic to Manning Drive.

“I think one-way streets are generally inconvenient, but the bike lanes are promising,” said UNC sophomore Coco Wilder.

Jack Bailey, vice-president of Triangle Grading and Paving, said potential challenges of the project will come from underground.

He said one difficulty the company often encounters is the relocation of power lines, gas lines and storm drains.

“You never can tell what you’re gonna run into. There’s always some kind of conflict, but that’s engineering,” Mann said.

Patty Eason, a construction engineer for the department of transportation, said the contract is part of a statewide program that works with local governments to identify construction and improvement projects for roads.

She said the department advertises the proposed projects online for North Carolina construction companies to bid on.

The lowest bidding company is chosen for the job.

“There were several bidders,” she said. “Out of the qualified, Triangle Grading and Paving was the lowest.”

Funding for the project comes primarily from the Federal Highway Administration and is distributed by the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Eason said Chapel Hill will be responsible for funding 30 percent of the sidewalk costs and the entire cost of bike detectors at stoplights.

If the project costs more or less than the allotted $4.56 million, the town will adjust how much it pays, Eason said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.