Tropical Storm Chantal caused havoc on homes and business throughout Chapel Hill, but one of the areas hardest hits was Chapel hill’s greenway network. The fast-moving water gouged out land the land supporting the Bolin Creek Trail, forcing its closure.
The Morgan Creek Trail suffered significant damage where it passes near and under NC-86. Meanwhile, on the old Fordham Boulevard greenway between Cleland Road and Estes Drive Extension, along the east side of US 15-501, large chunks of asphalt were torn up, and the supports leading to the bridge over Bolin Creek were washed away, leaving no (safe) way to cross.
These trails are components of the town’s growing network of greenways, sidewalks, bike lanes, and other facilities that allow people to get around town without driving. They are a critical part of the town’s Complete Communities and “Everywhere to Everywhere Greenways,” projects intended to create a fully accessible transportation network that allows people to access jobs, services, and recreational facilities near where they live and work.
The success of the Complete Communities and Everywhere to Everywhere Greenways concepts depends on having these transportation links, well, exist, and that they be well maintained. We would expect any serious road damage to be repaired as quickly as possible–for example, big chunks of Highway 902 in Chatham County were washed away during Chantal, but it reopened in August thanks to extensive repair efforts by the NC Department of Transportation and its consultants.
Unfortunately, in Chantal’s immediate aftermath, the town didn’t place a high priority on repairing the trails. In its initial updates, the town reported parts of the Bolin Creek Trail would be closed for at least a year, up to 18 months. The Morgan Creek Trail would take months to reopen. And, the Fordham Boulevard greenway would be closed indefinitely. Repair of the Fordham Boulevard greenway was contingent on construction of a new greenway that was designed to replace and extend the current greenway. That project was expected to begin construction in 2023 but never started because the construction bids were too costly. It is scheduled to go out to bid again (with additional funds budgeted) later in 2025. Assuming the bid is successfully (a big “if”), the project would take more than a year to complete, which means the path would be closed for at least 18 months, and potentially many months or years more.
These delays are clearly unacceptable. Advocates like Shift Chapel Hill Carrboro let the town know these transportation facilities are “essential routes to school, work, errands, and community life.”
Shift CHC is calling on the Town of Chapel Hill and NCDOT to act quickly with simple, low-cost solutions that can be deployed while long-term repairs are underway. These short-term fixes are a chance to test approaches the Town has already discussed, giving us real-world lessons for future projects:
Shift Chapel Hill Carrboro
Fortunately, the town took heed. On October 9, the town announced an accelerated program to make quick-fix repairs to the trails so that they can safely be used while longer-term repairs are developed. The changes will reopen the trails months or years earlier than originally scheduled. The repairs are being completed in order:
- The Bolin Creek Trail will be addressed first, with work progressing from the west end towards the east, with the entire trail reopened by the end of October (weather permitting).
- Next, the Fordham Boulevard greenway will receive temporary repairs, which should take about two weeks.
- Finally, repair work will begin on the Morgan Creek Trail and should take another two weeks.
This means that instead of waiting more than a year for these facilities to reopen, they will open up less than six months after they were severely damaged by Chantal. Hopefully this is a sign that that when these types of catastrophic events happen in the future, the town will immediately prioritize making short-term fixes to reopen critical greenway facilities.
Thanks are due to the town staff, for putting the piece in place to make this happen; town leadership, for making this a priority; and to Town Council members for emphasizing the importance of reopening these trails and greenways ahead of the first lengthy timelines. We look forward to walking and riding along the Bolin Creek Trail, Morgan Creek Trail, and Fordham Boulevard greenway in the coming weeks.