Roadway Design & Construction newsletter, Winter 2018

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Winter 2018

New Roundabouts in Raleigh

Raleigh roundabouts were a topic on our local news outlets this fall. The introduction of a roundabout on Buck Jones Road at the intersection of Farm Gate Road put a spotlight on the use of Roundabouts as a traffic control measure in Raleigh.  

Buck Jones Roundabout
A new roundabout was installed at Buck Jones Rd. and Farm Gate Rd.


Roundabouts can provide lasting benefits and value in many ways. They are often safer, more efficient, less costly and more aesthetically appealing than conventional intersection designs. Furthermore, roundabouts are an excellent choice to complement the City’s transportation objectives – including Complete Streets, multi-modal networks, and corridor access management – without compromising the ability to keep traffic moving.   

Buck Jones Road is planned to have two roundabouts. The first one at the intersection of Buck Jones and Farm Gate Road opened to traffic while the contractor completed the inner circle in late October, and the other roundabout will be located at the intersection of Bashford Drive and Buck Jones Road.

The Hillsborough Street, Phase I project introduced Raleigh to the modern roundabout and the Phase II Project includes the addition of three more roundabouts at the intersections of Shepherd Street and Rosemary Street, Brooks Avenue, and Dixie Trail and Friendly Drive. Construction of the Shepherd St and Rosemary St roundabout started in November and the other three are scheduled to be completed later this winter.

A few basic rules to follow when driving in a roundabout;

  • Drivers entering a roundabout must yield to circulating traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists; 
  • Drivers in the circle have the right of way; and
  • A motorist approaching a roundabout should wait for a gap in traffic before entering.

Construction Updates

Buck Jones Road Culvert
The last section of the new box culvert was installed on Buck Jones Rd.

Buck Jones Road

Carolina Sunrock completed the last section of the new box culvert, and the installation of curb and gutter and sidewalks continue along the corridor. Once the upstream box culvert headwalls and wingwalls are completed, backfilling operations and pavement construction will begin, which includes construction of a second roundabout at the Bashford Road intersection.

There are two separate road closures scheduled along Buck Jones Road this winter. The first one will close Buck Jones Road to through traffic while a crew upgrades a sanitary sewer line that runs from Xebec Way to Wilmot Drive. The work is expected to take between three to four weeks to complete.

The other road closure takes place on Bashford Road between Buck Jones Road and Westcliff Court. Crews are scheduled to complete extensive grading operations and start the installation of the new roundabout at Basford Road. The intersection of Bashford Road is scheduled to remain closed for two months while this work is completed.

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Hillsborough Street Construction image
New sidewalk installation on Hillsborough St.

Hillsborough Street

This fall the contractor (Pipeline Utilities) closed Dixie Trail between Hillsborough Street and the East Village Grill & Bar driveway to install sanitary sewer, water mains and storm drains. Early this winter the contractor will complete extensive grading operations in the area, install curb and gutter and sidewalks before repaving and reopening the intersection in early to mid-February. With the reopening of Dixie Trail, the contractor is scheduled to start the installation the roundabouts and medians along the corridor and complete that last of the underground infrastructure work on Daisy Street.

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Mitchell Mill Road Culvert image
Installation of the first half of the box culvert on Mitchell Mill Rd.

Mitchell Mill Road

The contractor (Rifenburg Corporation) is installing curb and gutter, sidewalks, and new pavement along the corridor. The installation of the first half of the box culvert was complete this fall and the second half is scheduled for installation in early February. The north section of Forestville Road at the intersection of Mitchell Mill Road is required to be closed while the second half of the culvert is installed. 

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Pullen Road Construction image
Clearing operations for the extension of Pullen Rd.

Pullen Road   

The contractor (Carolina Sunrock) started clearing operations in December, and Sunrock is slated to begin grading operations and installation of storm drains this winter. 

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sidewalk image
New Sidewalk and crosswalkon ravenwood Dr.

Sidewalk Construction

This winter the City will continue to see sidewalk construction activity, especially along neighborhood streets. Some of the streets to keep your eye on are Cranbrook Road, Orleans Place, Manchester Drive, Wimbleton Drive, and Yadkin Drive. 

New Projects

This past fall Raleigh voters passed a $ 206.7 million transportation bond to improve streets throughout the City. There will be a variety of projects from the Bond that are implemented by the Roadway Design & Construction Division, including three new projects we just added to the division website;

All three of these projects are in the early stages of design, but as the projects move forward more information will be posted. Look for more projects to be added to the website in the coming months.

 

Staff Highlight

With the influx of projects that the transportation bond is bringing to the Roadway Design & Construction Division, staff was also approved to add three new project managers. The transportation bond included funding for these positions, as well as more positions in survey and inspections later this year.

On December 4, Brennon Fuqua, Tim Athy, and Reuben Moore joined the Roadway Design & Construction Division. 

New Project MGR's image
From left to right, Brennon Fuqua, Tim Athy, and Reuben Moore

Brennon is a 2011 graduate of North Carolina State University. While he is North Carolina born (Asheville), he spent most of his time growing up in southern Louisiana before moving to Raleigh in 2006; making him diehard N.C. State Wolfpack and New Orleans Saints fan! Before starting work with the City, Brennon spent six years with FDH Engineering, a Structural Engineering firm with a focus on nondestructive investigations of infrastructure. While not at work, Brennon enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, Juliana, being outside with his dogs, Delilah and Harper, playing any sport, cooking, and is currently trying to learn photography.

Tim is 1995 graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He has over 20 years of civil engineering experience, which includes heavy highway construction engineering, design engineering for several private engineering firms, and a staff engineer for a large county in Illinois. His professional career has taken me to North Carolina, Atlanta, Michigan, Illinois, and back to North Carolina! He is married with three children and two dogs. He enjoys spending time with my wife and kids and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.

Reuben is a 1981 Civil Engineering graduate of Virginia Tech and an Air Force veteran. Growing up as an Army brat, he lived in many states and countries but settled into the Great Smoky Mountains area of NC when he worked for the NCDOT, which he did for 30 years.  He is a former resident of Raleigh having lived here in 1984-85.  He and his wife of 34 years, Valerie, live downtown and have four grown children and four grandchildren. He enjoys bicycling, disk golf, and watching movies with his wife.

In other exciting news, Moo Song, from our survey team received his Professional Land Surveying License this fall. Moo graduated from NC State in 2002 with a political science major. Shortly after graduating, he and his wife moved to Virginia where he was introduced to land surveying. He moved back to Raleigh in 2007 and joined Raleigh’s Surveying team.

Richard Homovec

Congratulations to Richard Homovec, who retired on January 2, after 17 years with the City. Richard started his career with the City of Raleigh as an Engineering Technician in 2001. Before Municipal employment, he had worked in both the private sector and public sector including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Richard plans to spend more time working with the United States Coast Guard AUX now that he is retired. 

Have a great Winter and remember to be safe in the work zones!