PITTSBORO — Pittsboro’s iconic traffic circle is getting a functional and aesthetic overhaul to make it safer for pedestrians and drivers.
The $2.48 million project, on which work began Monday, will include the milling and resurfacing of the circle and about 250 feet of roadway stemming from it in each direction, according to N.C. Dept. of Transportation officials.
The joint venture between NCDOT and the town is being performed by Carolina Sunrock LLC of Raleigh. Completion is scheduled for October of this year, weather permitting.
The traffic circle carries U.S. 15-501 and U.S. 64 Business through the heart of Pittsboro. Truck and through traffic will be detoured for the duration of the project. The U.S. 15-501 detour will follow N.C. 87 and U.S. 64 Bypass, which will also serve as the detour for U.S. 64 Business.
The town of Pittsboro will install detours for local traffic to access points near the traffic circle. Drivers should be mindful of crews working in this area over the coming months and allow extra time for the detours.
This is the first phase of a broader project to improve about two miles of U.S. 15-501 in Pittsboro, widening and constructing roadway and streetscape improvements between south of U.S. 64 Business and Powell Place Lane near the bypass. Proceeds from the sale of Build NC bonds are earmarked to pay for $1.5 million of the construction of the first phase.
In addition to that project, nine miles of U.S. Hwy. 64 that make up the Pittsboro bypass, between Exit 378 and the Haw River bridge, are being rehabilitated. S.T. Wooten Corporation of Wilson was awarded the contract with the low bid of $2.74 million. Work may begin as early as the week of March 15 and is scheduled for completion by June 2022; it will include milling, resurfacing and shoulder grading.