Highway 49 Corridor Plan
Town of Harrisburg, NC
2. Community Transportation Plan
On October 12, 2020, the Harrisburg Town Council adopted a Community Transportation Plan (CTP) providing multi-modal recommendations for the transportation system throughout Town. The plan's objective was to identify the transportation needs for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit in the community. The community-driven planning process established a vision for the transportation system in Harrisburg, identifying needs and deficiencies, recommending specific projects and strategies, and creating an action plan for implementation.
The goals of the CTP are to:
- Create and document current conditions and inventory of the Town’s transportation system
- Align the recommendations from HALUP and other plans to provide recommended transportation improvements
- Identify key corridors and create recommended cross-section designs
- Prioritize projects and provide planning level cost estimates along with an implementation action plan
3. Highway 49 Corridor Goals
Based on discussions with Town staff and feedback received from an on-line public meeting held October 21, 2020, the most-important goals for improving the Highway 49 Corridor are:
- Improving Access
- Improving Safety
- Reducing Congestion
- Undergrounding Overhead Utilities
- Landscaping/Beautification
- Improving Pedestrian Accommodations
4. Existing Conditions
NC Highway 49 is a primary arterial that runs north-south through the Town of Harrisburg. The roadway carries two through lanes in each direction for its entire 4.6-mile length, but the typical section varies based on the level of adjacent development. As illustrated on these photos, at the northern end of town (from the Town line at Coddle Creek to 0.4-mile north of Kings Drive) Highway 49 has a wide, grassed median with few crossovers or turning lanes. Between Main Street and Roberta Road, the roadway includes a raised concrete median and turn lanes for controlling access to the recent developments on the either side. In other areas, all the way to the southern end of town, Highway 49 is a 5-lane section including a two-way-left-turn-lane (TWLTL).
The posted speed limit for Highway 49 through the Town is 35 mph.
Click on the information (i) button on each photo for more information.
5. Land Use and Development Projects
Due to convenient highway access and proximity to Charlotte, the Town of Harrisburg has seen significant growth over the past ten years and is projected to be one of the top five fastest-growing communities in North Carolina over the next ten. The Town tracks proposed development and land use cases on the Planning and Economic Development web site. Recent projects that have been proposed along the Highway 49 corridor have been reviewed and reflected on the exhibits developed for this study. Details about each project can be reviewed by clicking on the appropriate location on the map below.
These land uses are consistent with the Harrisburg Area Land Use Plan (adopted in 2018) and reflect the community’s expectations for growth within the corridor. This study will provide Town staff, elected officials and the development community with concepts for integrating improvements to the Highway 49 corridor into future land use changes or proposals.
6. Proposed Improvements
As illustrated on the exhibits in the Corridor Strategies section below, various options were considered for improving the Highway 49 corridor through Harrisburg. These include:
- Replacing the two-way-left-turn-lane with a raised median to help control access and minimize vehicular conflicts
- Consolidating entrances to minimize conflicts and help preserve capacity
- Adding landscaping throughout the corridor
- Adding a shared-use path along one or both sides of the corridor
- Undergrounding overhead utilities on one or both sides of the corridor
This “typical section” shows how these various elements could be included in the corridor.
What is a typical section? Typical sections are detailed cross section depictions of the highway's principal elements that are standard between certain station or milepost limits. These sections are the basis for construction details and information shown on the various plan sheets throughout the plans package.
The typical section above shows how the current segment of Highway 49 with two lanes in each direction plus the 2-way-left-turn-lane might be converted. With only minor pavement widening (1.5’) the current 60’ of pavement could be repurposed as four 11’ travel lanes with a standard raised median for landscaping and turn lanes.
This section shows the option for a 5’ sidewalk on one side of the roadway and a 10’ shared-use path on the other side. The diagonal lines at the outer edges of the section illustrate potential grading that might be required if the land adjacent to the roadway was slightly higher or lower than the roadway itself. The need for any additional grading, as well as for additional right-of-way, will be dependent on the specific location and subject to further engineering design.
The rendering below illustrates one option for the implementation of these improvements and how they might look within the corridor. Use the slider bar to pan left and right to see the before and after images.
Left: Current conditions Right: Proposed conditions
7. Design Process and Public Involvement
After collecting data and discussing potential design options with Town staff, Timmons Group developed conceptual layouts for how these various improvements might look within the corridor. The plan sheets shown below were prepared and shared with Town Council, Planning Board, and the public at a series of meetings on October 21, 2020, January 5, 2021, and February 24, 2021.
Because of COVID-19 protocols, these meetings were held virtually. A project web site was developed to allow elected officials, citizens, and other stakeholders an opportunity to view these exhibits and ask questions via an on-line survey. A list of frequently asked questions and comments was also developed, and these suggestions have been reflected in the current plans.
The following sheets represent one potential design for improvements to this corridor. This first sheet shows the southern Town limits where there is already a wide, grassed median. Alternative design options are shown by the typical sections at the bottom of the sheet. The legend at the bottom right provides information about the various items shown in the plan view as well as the possible landscaping options shown on the typical sections. At this end of the corridor, few improvements are recommended other than the potential consolidation of a few driveways and the construction of a shared-use path along the west side of the corridor. Major intersections (potential traffic signal locations) are emphasized by a large circle, and the distance between those intersections are noted.
On Sheet 2 the existing grassed median ends and the introduction of a raised median begins. The median is shown in green where there is sufficient room for landscaping; in other areas a concrete median is provided to allow for left turning lanes. Please note the planned extension of Caldwell Road to the west (across from its existing intersection) as well as current or planned developments (such as the Tractor Supply site) shown in orange.
Please also note that at Caldwell Road the proposed shared-use path changes over from the west side of Highway 49 to the east side (where it stays all the way to the Saddle Creek Court/Cambridge Drive intersection at the proposed Harrisburg passenger rail station).
On Sheet 3 the proposed raised median and access management improvements continue...
...and these improvements extend throughout Sheet 4. Please note that between the signalized intersections at Moorehead Road and Patricia Avenue (somewhere in the vicinity of Killian Plaza) there is room for a directional crossover (left-in, right-in, right-out access only). This crossover should be situated at a location to provide the maximum benefit to existing and/or proposed business in this area.
On the left side of Sheet 5 much of the raised median will be used to accommodate left-turning vehicles onto Roberta Road. On the right side, the median improvements constructed in front of the Publix are shown. To further reduce potential conflicts and allow for some potential landscaping, the concept shows closing one crossover, directing those vehicles to Kee Lane and constructing a new connector (extension of Financial Way) into the Harrisburg Market (Food Lion) shopping center.
Similar improvements are proposed across Sheet 6. Please note proposed turn lane and intersection improvements associated with the proposed Harrisburg passenger rail station. Also note that this is the location where the proposed shared-use path crosses back over to the west side of Highway 49.
The proposed median and access management improvements continue across Sheet 7 to the Anything Automotive site. North of this location, Highway 49 returns to a wide grassed median and entrances are widely spaced. If and when the Town grows to the north, appropriate entrance and crossover spacings should be maintained to avoid future traffic conflicts and congestion issues.
8. Overall Corridor Strategies
Short-Term Concepts
As much of the corridor south of Saddle Creek Court (the location of the proposed Harrisburg passenger rail station) is already developed, the improvement options all require right-of-way acquisition and utility relocations to implement. As such, the conceptual plans provide the Town with a framework for working with property owners and developers to incorporate some of these improvements as redevelopment occurs within the corridor.
From a budgetary standpoint, the most cost-effective Town-funded option in the short-term would be to provide enhanced landscaping along existing sections of Highway 49 that already have a median. The illustration below shows an area in the northern portion of the corridor that could benefit from this approach.
Left: Current conditions Right: Proposed conditions
Mid-Term Concepts
If the Town has the opportunity to secure or accrue funding for more substantive improvements, the conceptual plans illustrated here can be further developed on a segment-by-segment basis based on the needs of specific areas and/or funding limitations.
Left: Current conditions Right: Proposed conditions
Long-Term Concepts
The access management controls created by the proposed median improvements will help to increase safety and preserve traffic capacity within the corridor. But they will also create some localized changes in traffic movements created by U-turning vehicles at the major intersections. The potential impact of these changes can be mitigated by improving the local network of side streets adjacent to the corridor. These potential longer-term improvements have been illustrated on the exhibits below.
Budgetary Cost Estimates
Budgetary estimates have been developed to provide the Town with an order-of-magnitude appraisal of the costs associated with these potential improvements. More detailed estimates will be required as final plans are developed based on specific design options desired by the Town.
Based on the elements illustrated on the conceptual plans, improvements to the Highway 49 corridor from 0.2 mile west of Caldwell Road (near Harris Teeter) to 0.2 mile west of Rocky River (near Automotive Anything) - a distance of approximately 2.9 miles - could be expected to cost:
- Construction (includes design and contingencies): $28.0 million
- Right-of-way acquisition (strip acquisitions only): $5.0 million
- Utility adjustments (resolution of conflicts only): $2.5 million
That option includes a shared-use path on one side Highway 49. If the plans were developed to include a shared-use path on both sides of the roadway, the costs could be:
- Construction (includes design and contingencies): $29.0 million
- Right-of-way acquisition (strip acquisitions only): $ 7.5 million
- Utility adjustments (resolution of conflicts only): $3.5 million
The costs above do not include the undergrounding of all overhead utilities. That alternative would increase the cost of improvements as follows:
- Construction (includes underground conduits/duct bank): $32.0 million
- Right-of-way acquisition (strip acquisitions only): $5.0 million
- Utility relocations (performed as part of Town project): $17.5 million
- Utility relocations (if performed by Duke Energy independently): $70.0 million
Beyond the limits of construction described above, enhanced landscaping and signage at both the eastern and western Town limits (where there is already a wide median) could be provided. That would be expected to cost:
- Median landscaping (approximately 1.7 miles): $1.3 to $1.5 million
9. What's Next?
Interim Improvement Opportunities
The following potential projects were identified as potential low-cost, short-term improvements that could be implemented to begin the process of enhancing the Highway 49 corridor:
A. Median improvements on NC 49 between Patricia Avenue and Roberta Road – similar to the improvements constructed to the east of Roberta Road, this would offer minimal landscaping/beautification improvements, but it would begin to set up the access management on the west side of Roberta. Budgetary cost: $1.6 million.
B. Close the median opening and extend Financial Way to Harrisburg Market – this would redirect some traffic to Kee Lane, allowing landscaping of the median in front of Verizon. Budgetary cost: $1.0 million.
C. Improvements on NC 49 between Morehead Road and Cedar Drive – this stretch of Highway 49 has the least amount of development on the north side and would involve median improvements to help control traffic at the Morehead Road intersection. Improvements east of Morehead become more challenging (from an existing development/right-of-way standpoint). Budgetary cost: $1.8 million.
D. Complete the sidewalk (or SUP) between Harrisburg Veterans Park and the Harrisburg Train Station – this could involve either completing any gaps in the existing 5’ sidewalk or converting that sidewalk into a 10’ shared-use path. Budgetary cost: $750,000 to $1.0 million.
E. Improvements on NC 49 from western Town limits to Caldwell Road – this would include enhanced landscaping at the Town’s western gateway and set up the median for the future Caldwell Road extension. Depending on the budget, it could also include sidewalk and/or shared-use path improvements. Budgetary cost: $1.0 to $2.0 million.
F. Convert existing span-wire traffic signals – this would involve replacing six (6) existing span-wire traffic signals along Highway 49 with decorative mast installations. The budget assumes four (4) standard pole locations per intersection, reusing existing traffic signal cabinets and only incidental roadway improvements (i.e. no turn lane improvements). Budgetary cost: $1.3 to $1.6 million.
G. Pedestrian lighting improvements - this would involve the removal of excess pedestrian-scale (acorn-style) light fixtures on Highway 49 (in the vicinity of Caldwell Road and replacement (if necessary) with overhead (cobra-style) lighting. The budget includes a photometric analysis (lighting study) as well as an allowance for the removal of 50 to 60 acorn-style light fixtures and the installation of an additional 10 cobra heads. Budgetary cost: $150,000 to $250,000.
Next Steps
Town Council received a briefing on the conceptual plans and study at their June 2021 meeting and were asked to adopt the study at their August 2021 meeting. Once the plan has been adopted, the Town may consider funding for specific elements of the plan, interim improvements as described above and/or work with the development community to implement elements of the plan. Specific action items may include:
- Review this document with proposed developers and implement improvements and/or dedicate additional right-of-way (where appropriate) on a site-by-site basis
- With all proposed developments, consider the implementation of the shared-use path to help the Town determine whether it would be more beneficial on one or both sides of Highway 4
- Initiate detailed traffic studies at one or more of the following intersections to confirm lane configuration, alternative intersection type and potential right of way requirements:
- Caldwell Road
- Morehead Road/Sims Parkway
- Patricia Avenue/Home Depot Road
- School Circle/Home Depot Road
- Roberta Road
- Main Street
- Saddle Creek Court
- Avoid permitting new utilities within the right-of-way unless provisions are included for their future relocation
- Include the evaluation of improvements to parallel and connecting roadways as the Community Transportation Plan is updated
- Initiate discussions with NCDOT to evaluate future funding opportunities and project prioritization through the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) process
