CPRPO News

Public Comment Period Continues for Pinehurst Traffic Circle

PINEHURST – The N.C. Department of Transportation will continue receiving comments and questions from the public on potential improvements to the Pinehurst Traffic Circle well into August.Three public meetings were held earlier this month for the public to see preliminary project designs, traffic data, and speak with engineers directly.Transportation officials spoke with several hundred citizens at the public meetings and have received nearly 1,000 comments as of July 31.After the comment period is over on Aug. 23, NCDOT officials will take several weeks to read, analyze and organize all comments and questions. NCDOT has heard the concerns from the community and is already reviewing all concepts and looking for opportunities to minimize impacts to the area. The department plans to improve the design based on the local input received and assure traffic safety and mobility is maximized.If major changes are made to the design from what was shared at the public meetings, NCDOT expects to share the final concept with the community prior to moving forward with final design plans.Additional information including conceptual designs and maps are available at the public input website.Comments and questions may be submitted via the project webpage, by email at pinehursttrafficcircle@publicinput.com, or by phone at 984-205-6615 code 7045.Comments should be submitted by Aug. 23.

***NCDOT***

CPRPO News

Potential Improvements for Pinehurst Traffic Circle

NCDOT plans to announce a public meeting so people can give feedback on the proposed changes

PINEHURST – The N.C. Department of Transportation is exploring upgrades and alternatives to the Pinehurst Traffic Circle in Moore County.

The circle, built in 1956, experienced 50,000 daily trips in 2023, with the traffic demand expected to rise to 80,000 trips in the next few decades.

With traffic steadily growing on key stretches such as U.S. 15/501, N.C. 211 and N.C. 2, the department’s goal is to move traffic more safely and efficiently through the circle.

After NCDOT’s most recent study of the area, the preferred alternative to improve mobility and safety is known as a Continuous Flow Intersection, or “CFI.”

NCDOT is in the process of scheduling a public meeting this summer to discuss this project in more detail. The public is encouraged to attend and comment on the preferred alternative.

The CFI design can move left-turning traffic at the same time as through traffic in both directions along a roadway using simple, two-phase traffic signals.
The signals can be coordinated together to adjust to variances in traffic flow throughout the day and over the course of time as future demand increases.

Once complete, this design will move traffic through the Pinehurst Traffic Circle vicinity more efficiently than most traditional interchange designs, with lower costs and fewer right-of-way impacts. Similar designs have enabled more efficient traffic flow on highway interchanges.

In addition, the CFI design has options to increase the aesthetic features over an interchange or conventional intersection. State transportation officials say processing traffic more efficiently would likely decrease the circle’s crash rate, too.

Approximately 850 crashes have occurred in the Pinehurst Traffic Circle vicinity over the last five years, resulting in over $31 million in crash costs. This rate of crashes has consistently increased over the last 10 years and is higher than standard signal-controlled intersections that experience the same amount of daily traffic.

The CFI alternative was one of over 15 separate alternative designs evaluated over the course of the project since 2013.

It has consistently provided better estimated mobility and safety results than any alternative studied to date.

Anticipated construction is set to begin by 2030.

For more information regarding CFI’s, visit our Conflict Flow Intersection webpage.

***NCDOT***