20-year-old road talk still progresses slowly

It’s difficult to remember when Carrboro officials actually began debating changes to Smith Level Road — and there’s apparently no end in sight.

The discussion appears ready to absorb the latest compromise effort and keep on rolling.

A report given to the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night signaled major developments for the long-discussed project after the N.C. Department of Transportation met with town staff.

“It was very cordial and productive,” said Transportation Planner Dale McKeel of the meeting, in which the state offered a pair of new options for the road between Morgan Creek and Rock Haven roads.

McKeel said NCDOT had offered to cap what the town would be expected to pay for rights-of-way or to use special state funds for the project — a move the department was previously unwilling to make.

Yet the offers still might not spell an end to the 20-year-old question of what to do with the road, as the aldermen are unlikely to endorse either option when they meet Tuesday for discussions.

Originally, NCDOT had wanted to construct a four-lane road, but the aldermen opposed the plan as overkill and asked the department to produce an alternative.

The department offered to use state Transportation Improvement Plan funds for the four-lane plan.

Nelson said that the larger road was inappropriate to its surroundings and that even now, NCDOT has not given up on the larger project.

“We’re still, you know, fighting to keep that from happening,” he said.

The alternative design, which involves one lane in each direction and a center turn lane, has been better received by the aldermen.

But this alternative did have what many saw as a major drawback: Carrboro would have to pay for the rights-of-way necessary for construction — a highly variable cost.

Now, the department could use state transportation improvement funding for the scaled-back option, which it originally opposed. Or NCDOT would cover any cost above $300,000 Carrboro incurred purchasing the rights-of-way.

And while the option no longer has a mystery price for the town, concerns could still sink it the idea.

For one thing, while funding wouldn’t be a concern for the town if NCDOT used state money, the state’s contribution would delay construction by four or five years.

With Frank Porter Graham Elementary School already sitting on the road and a new high school soon to be constructed on Rock Haven, some feel that waiting up to seven years for sidewalks and bike lanes isn’t an option.

“We … would prefer to have sidewalks and bike paths put in sooner rather than later,” Nelson said.

Also, even $300,000 could still press the town, Nelson said.

“Maybe we’d have to raise taxes or maybe we’d have to cut something else, or maybe it would come out of our capital reserves,” he said.

“At this point, I don’t really know where the money would come from,” he added.

In the end, Nelson said, the town needs to continue looking for a better solution with the department.

“We still have issues to work out and I don’t really know how it’s going to be resolved.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.