Portion of North Main Street now one lane each way
Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 10, 2018
- Motorists traveling along North Main Street in Salisbury are having to adjust for new traffic patterns between the railroad crossing near Richard's BBQ and the Spencer City limits. The newly asphalted roadway has been reduced from a four lane road to a two lane road with a center turning lane and room for bicycle lanes near the curbs. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — Between the railroad tracks and the town of Spencer, North Main Street has been repaved and repurposed.
The mile of roadway was repaved by the North Carolina Department of Transportation over the last several weeks.
City Engineer Wendy Brindle said the repaving project provided a “clean slate” for the road and gave the city a chance to ask neighborhood residents what they’d like to see there.
“We originally planned on parking on both sides, but the neighborhood preferred the bicycle lanes instead,” Brindle said in an email.
Brindle said the bike lanes, which are in the process of being marked, will be 6 feet wide.
The car lanes — one in each direction — will be 12 feet wide.
There is also a center turn lane that is about 14 feet wide, which Planning Director Janet Gapen said is recommended by the small area plan the city adopted in 2007.
Brindle said the small area plan calls for “center planted medians” — concrete medians with greenery — in some areas.
“Although there is no funding currently, this new configuration will allow for easier implementation in the future,” Brindle said.
Brindle said the city would mark bicycle lanes and erect signage now that DOT has completed its striping of the repaved road.
Brindle said this section of North Main Street used to be a detour route for Interstate 85. But the widening of the interstate at the Yadkin River caused Main Street to no longer be the primary detour.
According to the latest DOT average daily traffic counts, North Main Street carries about 7,500 vehicles per day.
By comparison, Innes Street carries about 22,000 vehicles per day.
Contact reporter Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222.
