 Winter, December 2016
Raleigh has seen an upswing in roadway and sidewalk construction activity this fall. The division has a number of roadway projects underway and a good number of sidewalks projects under construction as well, and even more on the way this winter.
The public can stay up to date between newsletters by checking our website on a regular basis or by following us on social media. We have a Facebook page where we share images and project information, and a Twitter @RaleighESDC account as well.
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Hillsborough Street Renewal Project, Phase II
Progress is being made on Hillsborough Street. In the last two months, three large underground electrical vaults were installed along the corridor, as well as numerous other milestones, such as the installation of a new watermain running from Gardner Street to Rosemary Street, and sanitary sewer lines running along the south side of the corridor.
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Sandy Forks Road Widening Project
At the end of October, traffic shifted to the new roadway on the south side of the street. The new pavement and sidewalks on the south side are making travel on Sandy Forks safer and more enjoyable. The project is on target to be complete on July 1, 2017.
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Lenoir and South Street Two-way Conversion Project
The underground infrastructure portion of this project is almost finished. Construction on this project is anticipated to be complete in January 2017.
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Mitchell Mill Road Widening Project
Construction crews are currently working on the temporary
road widening operations and the installation of new storm drains, water mains,
and sanitary sewer lines along the corridor.
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 Buck Jones Road Widening Project
If you have driven along Buck Jones Road recently, you will have noticed that construction has started along the corridor.
When the project is complete the roadway from Farmgate Road to Xebec Way will have the following improvements, underground infrastructure upgrades, curb and gutter, culvert replacement, bicycle lanes, streetlights, sidewalks on both sides of the street, transit stop upgrades, two roundabouts (one at Farm Gate Road and the other at Bashford Road), and a center turn lane at remaining intersections along the corridor.
Currently, construction crews are installing storm drain pipes in the vicinity of South Valley Court running towards Farmgate Road. There is also extensive clearing operations taking place along the corridor, and private utility companies are working to relocate their services. Much of this work requires lane closures and flagging operations.
We understand that roadway work can be frustrating to residents along the corridor. The City and the contractor are working to keep disruptions to travel along the corridor to a minimum, but there will be delays at times due to the nature of the work. Once the project is complete, the improvements to the roadway will make all modes of transportation safer and more pleasant. The project is scheduled to be complete in the Summer of 2018.
To stay up to date on the project you can check the website often as pages will be updated regularly, or if you would like updates sent to your email, subscribe to project updates.
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Sidewalk Project News:
City-initiated Projects (CIP)
The City is focused on fixing gaps along higher volume streets, such as thoroughfares. Sidewalk projects have been evaluated and ranked based on a variety of factors, including street classification, existing demand, special population needs, feasibility, and the proximity of places people want to walk to, like parks, schools, and shopping areas.
 The last few months has seen an upswing of sidewalk project activity throughout Raleigh, and it is not about to slow down anytime soon.
• New sidewalks are almost complete on both sides of Chapanoke Road between Ileagnes Drive and just east of Wilmington Street.
• Sidewalk construction on New Hope Church Road is moving along. Crews are installing new sidewalk on both sides of the roadway from Wake Forest Road to Atlantic Avenue.
• Capital Boulevard has new sidewalks underway from Spring Forest Road to Old Wake Forest Road. This project will also include pedestrian improvements such as high visibility crosswalks and push-button signalized intersections.
• The new sidewalks at the I-40 overpasses along Avent Ferry Road, Buck Jones Road, and Rock Quarry Road are scheduled to be complete this December.
• Construction of new sidewalks on the north side of Clark Avenue between Woodburn Road and Bellwood Drive will be starting soon.
Construction is scheduled to begin this winter on some other sidewalks around Raleigh. We will see gaps in sidewalks completed along Bloodworth Street, Blount Street, Hoke Street, Person Street, Millbrook Road, Oakwood Avenue and Raleigh Boulevard. These pedestrian improvements are scheduled to be complete by December 2017.
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Petition Projects
Petition Projects are sidewalk projects on local residential streets that are handled through the Sidewalk Petition Program. The petition program for a new sidewalk requires signatures from a majority of the property owners along the street that make up the majority of the property frontage. In most cases, there are no costs for residential property owners.
Currently, we have four sidewalk petition projects out for construction bids. New sidewalks on Melbourne Road, Ravenwood Drive, Tyrell Road and Northclift Drive are scheduled to be finished by Summer 2017.
Design News:
Our team is also busy working on designing a large number of roadway and sidewalk improvement projects. The design process can take several months to a few years depending on the scope of work. The process involves public meetings with citizen input, design review by peer departments and divisions within the City, and concludes with the City Council/City Manager’s authorization.
Our website maintains a listing and up to date information for all our street projects and sidewalk projects.
The Design/Construction Division consists of 39 employees spread over five programs (Roadway, CADD Services, Survey Services, Contract Inspections, and Assessments/Petitions). With each newsletter, we like to spotlight one or two members of the team.
Welcome
 Amy Billings
At the end of August, we welcomed Amy Billings to the Design/Construction Division. Amy is a Project Engineer II working on CIP projects. Currently, she is working on roadway projects, one of which is the Buck Jones Road Widening Project.
Amy grew up in New England, outside of Boston with five sisters. She attended college at the University of Notre Dame, in cold South Bend Indiana, graduating in 1986. After years of being cold, she decided to move to sunny and warm California. While in California, Amy obtained her Professional Engineers License and met her husband. Amy and her husband made a move to the east coast in 1993. Amy says they “had a blast driving across the country to move from California to Pennsylvania for one cold year; then we moved to warm North Carolina and have lived here for the past 22 years.” Amy and her husband have two children, on in college and one in middle school.
Amy has worked in in everything from design and construction in civil engineering to building a spec home with her residential contractor’s license.
We are happy to have Amy join the team and look forward to working with her for many years to come.
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Matt Biehl
Matt Biehl joined Survey Services this summer. He is originally from Clarkston, Michigan and attended college at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he played Division I hockey.
Matt has been in the roadway construction field for fifteen years doing inspections, material testing, and surveying.
Matt and his wife have two boys, Sullivan who is two and the newest edition Weston who is just a little over one month old. He enjoys hockey, motocross, fishing, and cycling (mountain biking, road cycling, and Cyclocross) and spending time with his family.
Congratulations
 For those of you who have not heard, Jimmy Upchurch has announced his retirement from the City of Raleigh effective December 31, 2016. Certainly, after 30 years with the City, Jimmy has earned the right to take things a bit easier. Jimmy began his impressive career in 1986 as a meter reader with the Utility Billing Department and subsequently held several increasingly responsible engineering related positions, eventually working his way up to Assessment Supervisor in 2010.
A reception is planned for Jimmy on December 14th from 2:00 to 4:00 in Room 419 of the Raleigh Municipal Building. We invite all of you to drop by and thank Jimmy for his years of service and to wish him well in his new ventures.
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Have a questions or feedback email us we want to hear from you. |
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