Carrboro begins pavement resurfacing project looking to improve safety, accessibility

On Tuesday, the Town of Carrboro began a street resurfacing project intended to improve safety and accessibility for residents. 

The Town Council authorized the 2024 Carrboro Street Resurfacing and Rejuvenation Project this May. The project costs nearly $700k and will repave several roads and walkways in the town. 

"The 2024 Street Resurfacing Project is intended to keep streets and curb ramps safe and in good condition for all users, and to make improvements strategically and efficiently to ensure safer and longer-lasting streets and curbs," Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee said in a written statement. 

Accessibility

Foushee said the project will upgrade sidewalk ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act — a federal civil rights law that outlawed discrimination towards people with disabilities and set standards for accessibility. 

Improving curbs, sidewalks and ramps will make Carrboro safer and more convenient for residents to move around, Doug Plachcinski, the executive director of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, said. 

Plachcinski said Carrboro is doing a good job of helping people with mobility, sight or sound impairments by working to complete this project. 

Safety

Director of Carrboro's Public Works Department Kevin Belanger said the project is also enhancing bicycle safety along BPW Club Road by widening bike lanes. 

As bikers pedal uphill, they tend to swerve more and need more space, Belanger said.

"We're hoping to enhance safety in two ways: reduce the overall speed of the vehicles, and then give the bicycles a little bit more room as they're pedaling up the hills," Belanger said. 

Widening the bike lanes will cause traffic shifts that Belanger said he hopes will result in reduced driving speed of vehicles on that road. 

"Repairing roads also helps public transportation move around," Plachcinski said. "It can improve safety and visibility for pedestrians and bicyclists and reduce vehicle congestion and reduce risk for vehicle crashes too." 

Environmental Impact

Belanger said the project will have positive impacts on the environment. 

He said the project will also target asphalt rejuvenation, a pavement preservation treatment that extends the life of good pavement.  

"Not only does [rejuvenation] extend the life of the pavement, but it has some other environmental benefits, where it reduces smog and then it has reflective properties," he said.

Foushee said the pavement rejuvenation phase will also decrease pollution and mitigate urban heat islands. 

Heat islands are areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas because infrastructure including buildings and roads absorb and re-emit heat more than natural landscapes like forests, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's website. 

"The environmental benefits help everybody in the community," Belanger said. 

Costs 

The resurfacing and rejuvenation project cost $688,205.17 and will be completed by paving contractor company Daniels, Inc. of Garner.

The Town of Carrboro receives federal funding from the United States Department of Transportation to help with street maintenance, Belanger said. 

The process of rejuvenation is much more cost effective than fixing a poor-quality road, he said.

Repaving the roads will also help save money for Carrboro residents because having good roads will lessen vehicle repair costs, Belanger said. 

The concrete work and pavement rejuvenation is expected to be complete by the end of this week.

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com