The Sandhills Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMPO) reviewed a wide slate of transportation projects on Wednesday, beginning the process that will decide which proposals move forward to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for scoring.
The meeting gave board members a chance to examine draft project lists for highways, transit, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The plans will be released for public comment before the next SMPO meeting in September, when a public hearing and vote are scheduled.
“The purpose of the SMPO Public Involvement Plan is to create an open decision-making process whereby citizens have the opportunity to be involved in all stages of the transportation planning process,” describes Scott Walston, SMPO Director. “This policy is designed to ensure that transportation decisions will reflect public priorities.”
With larger municipalities such as Charlotte sharing resources with Moore County, projects must demonstrate considerable safety benefits, traffic capacity improvements, and cost effectiveness to rank well.
Roadway priorities
Though pedestrian and bicycle accommodations were also proposed, much of the discussion centered on roadway improvements identified through 2020–2024 crash data and traffic counts. Several projects carried over from earlier planning cycles remain under consideration:
• U.S. 1/N.C. 2 (Midland Road) to Camp Easter Road: convert to a reduced conflict intersection corridor.
• N.C. 211 at Rattlesnake Trail/Gun Club Drive: intersection improvements.
• N.C. 22 at McCaskill Road: intersection improvements.
New highway submissions focus on corridors experiencing growth in traffic volumes and high crash frequencies:
• U.S. 15-501/N.C. 211 Relocation: build a new two-lane connector from Roseland Road to U.S. 15-501/N.C. 211 near Aberdeen. Officials said the change would eliminate a “dog-leg” connection at Roseland Road and improve efficiency. Between 2020 and 2024, the Roseland Road/U.S. 1 intersection recorded 45 crashes, many involving injuries.
• N.C. 22 (Pee Dee Road to Aviation Drive): modernize roadway with turn lanes and possibly a roundabout. Traffic has risen 51% since 2007, reaching nearly 12,000 vehicles per day, close to the road’s capacity. Crashes at nearby intersections totaled more than 80 in the four-year review period.
• Airport Road (N.C. 2 to N.C. 22): widen and modernize. Traffic on the two-lane section has climbed 31% since 2009, and both ends of the corridor had more than five crashes in recent years. At the Midland Road end, 48 crashes were reported between 2020 and 2024. The proposal states that “the two-lane portion of road is reaching capacity” of approximately 10,900 vehicles per day, currently seeing over 9,000 vehicles per day.
• Indiana Avenue at May Street (Southern Pines): add turn lanes. The intersection logged 20 crashes in the review period, though most caused only minor injuries. Traffic has increased on at least three legs since 2007.
• Indiana Avenue at Fort Bragg Road (Southern Pines): upgrade the four-way stop. Traffic has surged along both Indiana Avenue and Fort Bragg Road in recent years, with nine crashes reported since 2020.
• N.C. 2 (Midland Road) at Pee Dee Road: add turn lanes and safety upgrades. The intersection saw 21 crashes in the past four years, including one serious injury. Traffic volumes on all approaches have grown steadily over the past decade.
The board singled out the Indiana Avenue and Fort Bragg Road corridor as a “significant issue.” It was described as a growing congestion point for commuting service workers, local residents, and individuals traveling to and from Fort Bragg.
Other concepts, including improvements to Addor Road in Pinebluff, Murdocksville Road in Pinehurst, and a new interchange at Air Tool Drive in Southern Pines, were submitted but not discussed in depth.
Transit proposals
Moore County Transportation submitted requests to expand service and protect its fleet. Proposals include:
• New passenger shelters at bus stops.
• Additional demand-response vehicles to extend hours and improve frequency.
• A new maintenance facility to protect vehicles from vandalism. The board noted repeated incidents of catalytic converter theft.
• Scheduling software to improve routing efficiency.
Airport traffic
Board members briefly revisited a recent presentation to county commissioners about the potential for commercial air service at Moore County Airport.
Plans call for two flights per day using smaller aircraft, seating only 35 apiece. Airport officials said the limited schedule is unlikely to create major traffic impacts but noted that improvements may still be beneficial along Airport Road.
Funding challenges and next steps
Questions were also raised about how projects would be funded. Pinehurst Mayor Patrick Pizzella indicated several times that he would like to know more about funding sources as the discussion moves forward.
Walston explained that both state and federal dollars may be involved, depending on scoring outcomes.
“Funding is not looking bright for the SMPO area in this chart received from NCDOT,” said Walston in his presentation. “SMPO is in NCDOT Division 8 with seven other counties. Therefore, most expensive projects, if they score well, will likely not get funded.”
Walston explained that Divisions 8 and 10 have approximately $277 million available in this funding cycle, which must be shared among 12 counties—including Mecklenburg. If the funds were distributed evenly, Moore County would receive around $21 million. Since SMPO is part of Moore County, it would only receive a portion of that amount.
Breaking it down further, Division 8 has about $54 million to allocate this cycle, divided among 8 counties total. An equal split would give Moore County roughly $6.75 million, again with SMPO receiving only a fraction.
However, the SMPO agreed that even costly or lower-scoring projects should be submitted, since priorities may shift depending on state evaluations.
The governing board is expected to release the draft submittal list for public review. A public hearing will be held on Sept. 17.
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Feature photo: A map denoting the start and end of a stretch of improvements along Airport Road, including upgrading the roadway to improve capacity and adding turn lanes at major intersections.
~ Article by Sandhills Sentinel Assistant Editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021. Photo courtesy Sandhills Metropolitan Planning Organization.
