During the recent Pinehurst Village Council Work Session held on Tuesday, council members discussed recent proposals from the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to reconfigure the Pinehurst Traffic Circle. The updated concept preserves the circle’s geometry while introducing signalized intersections aimed at resolving longstanding traffic concerns.
The updated design was previously unveiled in June at a Sandhills Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMPO) meeting. The council acknowledged it as a “marked improvement” over previous ideas that had been put forth by the NCDOT.
The proposed “marquise” design, so-named for its diamond-like shape, was not among the 18 options previously studied by DOT consultants. Instead, it originated with a traffic engineering expert at N.C. State University.
Council members said the design addresses several long-standing concerns, including reducing property impacts to homes, preserving more trees, and limiting disruption compared with the previous Continuous Flow Intersection proposal, which carried an estimated $77.8 million price tag.
During the meeting, Pinehurst Mayor Patrick Pizzella praised parts of the new plan and called it a “major improvement” over the previous “shifted pillow” design.
“We offered to meet and try to keep finding a way to make improvements to the traffic circle without doing what they were originally doing with the shifted pillow,” explained Pizzella, “which was basically eliminating almost every tree and having a series of intersections there.”
The new version is expected to cost less and handle projected traffic growth through 2050, from 55,000 to 80,000 vehicles daily, with performance equal to or better than the prior design.
The plan includes a smaller roundabout at the Airport Road intersection on Midland Road, and Midland Road would remain connected to the circle, reversing a proposed cutoff in the earlier design.
NCDOT officials told the council that pedestrian connections could be added, and landscaping funds are available for screening or sound barriers where homes back onto the project area.
An additional view provided by NCDOT.
However, despite these improvements, the council was still left with several questions and additional comments they wished to make to NCDOT. To address these questions—and also to provide compliments for the more successful parts of the plan—Mayor Pizzella and Pro Tem Mayor John Taylor drafted an official email to the NCDOT, which they shared publicly.
Pizzella and Taylor opened their email with praise for elements of the latest plan, including a small roundabout at the Airport Road and Midland Road intersection, limits on Beaver Lane access, reduced eminent domain needs, preservation of historic Midland Road, and preservation of more trees than initially proposed.
Yet, according to Pizzella, research shows that compared to intersections with stoplights, roundabouts generally have fewer severe crashes.
“Both the CFI and the proposed ‘marquise’ design are intersections, not ‘roundabouts,’ but our research indicates it seems to be generally accepted by both Federal and state DOTs that roundabouts are more efficient and safer,” wrote Pizzella and Taylor. “Doesn’t this suggest less altering of the existing Circle rather than changing too much of it to an intersection?”
The mayor also requested details on potential property takings along Dalrymple Road. “Do you have any clarification on how much of a ‘sliver’ may be required from the rear of properties on Dalrymple Road?” he asked, looking for more concrete details.
The pair also inquired about construction start dates, updated cost estimates, widening of roads, revised materials, traffic detours, and whether a U-turn “hook” on U.S. 15/501 could be removed.
In their email, Pizzella and Taylor urged NCDOT to consider new traffic and population data before finalizing the plan, writing that state demographic projections for Moore County in 2050 have dropped by about 10,000 residents and that updated Traffic Analysis Zone estimates would be useful in potential plans.
Doug Willardson, Village Manager, said that NCDOT Division Engineer Reuben Blakley has “indicated he is preparing a formal response” to their inquiries. The council is hopeful to have an answer soon.
A public meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28 at the Fair Barn, where residents will be able to review the design and submit feedback.
In the meantime, the council is awaiting a formal response from NCDOT before continuing the discussion further.
“We’ll follow up with the new information, and we may or may not have more to say at our next meeting in September, because that’ll be after we’ve heard from some residents, probably, and after meeting with SMPO,” assured Pizzella, “so we’ll play it by ear for now.”
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~ Article by Sandhills Sentinel Assistant Editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021. Photos via North Carolina Department of Transportation.
