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As light rail deadline in Durham nears, concerns of traffic impact grow

A light rail for Durham and Orange counties has been in the planning stage for decades, and major stakeholders in Durham have concerns that could jeopardize the project.

Posted Updated

By
Sarah Krueger
, WRAL reporter
DURHAM, N.C. — A light rail for Durham and Orange counties has been in the planning stage for years, and major stakeholders in Durham have concerns that could jeopardize the project.

A proposed stop for the light rail is right in front of the Durham Performing Arts Center and near the American Tobacco Campus, which is owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company, the parent company of WRAL-TV, and also the owner of the Durham Bulls.

To put a stop there would require closing an intersection on Blackwell Street to traffic, a planned closure added in recent weeks.

Capitol Broadcasting leadership opposes closing the intersection.

Dan Jewell, who owns a landscape architecture and engineering firm, fears that closing the intersection would cut off downtown.

"It's the main artery to downtown," he said. "To sever this permanently to any kind of traffic at all is going to be devastating to downtown."

In Durham County, others have concerns the proposed light rail maintenance facility will be too noisy.

"It's really going to be a complete change for our neighborhood if that kind of use is inserted into our neighborhood," said Philip Post, who lives near where the rail operation maintenance facility will be. "It’s a complete industrial use in an existing residential neighborhood."

These issues can't halt the project. But Duke University's cooperation and donation of land is essential for the light rail to happen.

In a letter Tuesday, Duke President Vincent E. Price said that school officials are concerned about the impact the project will have, particularly about road closures and a portion of the line that will run through the Duke campus.

“Duke is vitally interested in the success of Durham and the region, and we want to be partners with the public and private sectors in solving the urgent matter of transit for the entire community,” Price wrote before expressing fear that with construction along Erwin Road, by Duke University Hospital, the light rail will make it difficult for emergency vehicles to navigate.

In response, Dave Charters, GoTriangle's manager of design and engineering, said GoTriangle selected a bridge type to minimize traffic disruptions to the hospital during construction and took guidance from hospital representatives in 2017.

City and county leaders say they need Duke to sign on by Dec. 31 so that they can make their deadlines to get more than $1 billion in federal funding.

Leaders said Wednesday they’re confident they’ll be able to satisfy Duke’s concerns.

"It's taken us two decades to get to this point that we're at right now," said Wendy Jacobs, chairwoman of the Durham County commission and a board member of GoTriangle. "We won't get another chance."

The Durham-Orange light rail would be about 18 miles long, with stops at and between North Carolina Central University, UNC Hospitals and Duke University Hospital.

Durham Mayor Steve Schewel said it's not unusual for projects so big to have many things come together at the end.

"We're working to make all of that happen," he said.

Officials believe the light rail will be significant to combat traffic and parking concerns and to provide people access to jobs as the region grows.

If the project continues, construction would begin around 2020.

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