Weaver Street reopening imminent

After months of construction and street closures, local officials say Carrboro’s Weaver Street could reopen soon.

Parts of West Weaver Street opened to local traffic on Wednesday from the Greensboro Street end and side streets. The Elm Street end will remain closed to prevent thru-traffic.

The reconstruction project began in March 2011 and entered its final phase in December, but weather delays have stalled completion.

Because the final phase of the project — which involves placing a final layer of asphalt and marking the pavement ­— depends on weather, David Poythress, project manager, said it was difficult to predict when it would end.

“If we had good temperatures and no rain, we probably would’ve been reopening Weaver Street tomorrow.”

Rebecca Bogart, office and finance manager at The Wellness Alliance on Weaver Street, said she is happy to see the construction end.

“It sort of looks like a ghost town,” Bogart said. “It’s just sort of a quiet street now.”

Poythress said the town is looking for alternative ways to reopen the area while waiting for the weather to improve.

“The town is considering temporarily reopening West Weaver Street, but that has not been finalized at this time,” Poythress said.

Economic and Community Development Director Annette Stone said the town has made efforts to keep construction from affecting businesses.

“Any time a road is shut down that’s hard on a business, particularly a small business, and we’re certainly trying to be as helpful with that as we can,” Stone said.

Parts of the project were constructed in phases to minimize street closure in front of any group of businesses.

“We’ve gone to great lengths to provide access to these locations and provided alternate parking to try to facilitate access to these businesses as best we can,” Poythress said.

The town also communicated regularly with businesses on Weaver Street and posted signs detailing street closures.

Aside from general long-term improvements to the roadway, Poythress said the town has added more storm drainage and crosswalks to Weaver Street.

Construction continues

In addition to the roadway construction on West Weaver Street, several businesses affected by a sewer break in August will soon begin repairs.

Armadillo Grill, ACME Food and Beverage Co. and the Orange County Social Club are among the businesses that were affected by a blockage in a private sewer line.

Stone said the repairs could start as early as the next few days, but will be dependent on weather.

She said the sewer line violated health standards after the blockage, and businesses hired a contractor to repair it as a short-term solution.

As a long-term solution and to alleviate similar problems in the future, the Board of Aldermen approved a resolution of intent at a Nov. 22 meeting to construct a public sewer line on Roberson Street.

Businesses affected by the broken sewer line will have the public line available to use once it’s built, Stone said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.