WILMINGTON — Improvements to over 10 miles of College Road in Wilmington between Gordon Road and Sanders Road could be on the way, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation is looking for input from the public.
The project has scored high enough on a needs-based scale to receive funding, according to NCDOT Spokesman Brian Rick.
“Through the Strategic Mobility Formula that prioritizes projects based on safety, congestion, benefit-cost and local priorities, the project scored well enough to be funded at the division level. The NCDOT is working on the design for these improvements and is seeking input from area residents, business owners, and visitors to help shape the road’s final design,” Rick said.
Preliminary plans and concepts will be on display at the Burney Center at UNCW from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. tonight. There will be no formal presentation and anyone interested is welcome to stop by and ask questions and view the plans.
The project to improve College road is actually a combination of six different NCDOT projects: U-5881, U-5792, U-5702A, U-5702B, U-5704, and U-5790.
U-5881: College Road from Gordon Road to New Centre Drive
The first of the projects comes with a hefty price tag: a total estimated cost of $82.4 million. Improvements would include additional thru and turn lanes, interchanges at Kings Drive and Ringo Street and modifications to College Road and Market Street interchange.
Right-of-way acquisition is preliminarily scheduled for fall of 2021, and construction would happen in summer of 2024.
U-5782: College Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway
The second project on the list would address the intersection of MLK Jr. Parkway and College Road. There are two different alternatives including a free-flow interchange as well as a superstreet alternative.
With a “superstreet” configuration involved, cars would only be able to turn right onto the road from side streets and make U-turns at median breaks farther down the road in order to travel the opposite way, as opposed to simply making a left turn from the side street.
The project is estimated to cost $25.6 million and construction is expected to begin summer of 2024.
U-5720A: College Road from New Centre Drive to Shipyard Boulevard
The project includes a 2.6-mile stretch of College Road and would include additional turn and thru roads on each direction on College Road. The project would add additional turning lanes at Randall Parkway and Wrightsville Avenue, a concrete median installation, and offset left turn movements.
The project cost estimate is $61.7 million and expected to begin in Summer 2024.
U-5702B: College Road from Shipyard Boulevard to Carolina Beach Road
This project remains unfunded at the time and includes a 4.3-mile stretch of College Road.
The plans include additional thru lanes in each direction with modified superstreet configurations, intersection exceptions included at Holly Tree Road, and continuous Flow Intersection approaches at South 17th Street.
U-5704 College Road and Oleander Drive
One of the busiest intersections in the city, U-5704 would improve College Road and Oleander Drive as well as include 2 miles along College Road from Wilshire Boulevard to Shipyard Boulevard.
Three alternatives are being proposed:
- Alternative A (Quadrant Intersection): Improve Parkway Drive, the side road which runs along Hugh MacRea Park and connects northbound College Road to eastbound Oleaner. This option would also and shift College and Oleander left turns to signals at each end of Parkway.
- Alternative B (Continuous Flow Intersection): Addition of upstream signalized left-turn crossover intersections for each approach.
- Alternative C (Tight Diamond): A diamond configuration interchange with footprint minimized to the extent possible. The diamond interchange, similar to the one in downtown Leland, is unconventional in that it requires drivers to briefly drive on the opposite side of the road.
The project has an estimated $56.1 million price tag and construction would being in 2024.
U-5790 College Road and Carolina Beach Road
The final project on the list takes place at College Road and Carolina Beach Road and has two different alternatives planned.
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- Alternative 1 (Median Flyover): Flyover from northbound College Road to westbound Carolina Beach Road intersection and widening to Sanders Road.
- Alternative 2 (Continuous Flow Intersection): Addition of upstream signalized left-turn crossover intersections on College Road approaches only, and widening to Sanders Road.
College Rd Handout Final 6-26 by Michael James on Scribd
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