Site work and paving for a road / highway in Aberdeen, North Carolina. Conceptual plans call for site work for a road / highway; and for paving for a road / highway.

https://www.thepilot.com/news/dot-moving-forward-on-circle-plan/article_f3cd21f3-8186-462b-9d18-9ad676fe0702.html DOT Moving Forward on Circle Plan Matt Lamb || Staff Writer 14 hrs ago 6 PTC new An aerial view of the new design for the Pinehurst Traffic Circle CONTRIBUTED Facebook Twitter Email PrintCopy article link Save When the N.C. Department of Transportation said its latest design for the historic Pinehurst Traffic Circle was its final offering, the organization meant it, according to a recent response it sent to Pinehurst officials. Last month, the Village Council submitted a resolution to DOT lauding its efforts to work with the village over the last decade but challenging its latest design iteration. Highlighting potential eminent domain concerns, overall project cost, changes in the state’s population projections, safety and efficiency, the council suggests moving forward with incremental changes to the circle, rather than DOT’s latest proposal. While recognizing the village’s concerns, DOT said it is moving toward final engineering and right-of-way acquisition ahead of plans to break ground in 2031. In a letter written by local resident and Board of Transportation member Pat Molamphy, Molamphy emphasizes that the agency is still committed to working with the village to “preserve visual character, minimize impacts and refine details where appropriate,” and plans to continue partnering with Pinehurst “as this important regional project moves forward.” The latest design, introduced last summer, comes on the heels of DOT’s penultimate proposal, the continuous flow intersection — or “shifted pillow” — that drew visceral opposition from many in the greater Pinehurst area. State officials, though, said it would be the most efficient at moving traffic and handling increased volume. Following that rollout, roughly 1,000 community members attended public meetings in the summer of 2024. The design required clearing all the trees at the center of the circle and potentially encroaching on five homes to accommodate new lanes. DOT ultimately announced it would re-examine the design after reviewing comments, which primarily addressed concerns about property impacts, tree removal and the retention of the aesthetic circular flow. The latest design reflects several of those concerns. Local DOT Engineer Reuben Blakely has emphasized that it retains the “geometry” of the current circle while increasing travel capacity, similar to the continuous flow intersection proposal. It also does not require any potential home relocations. The prospective plan features three intersections controlled by traffic lights. Circle elements are retained with the U.S. 15-501 north and southbound movements, which separate into one-way roads. N.C. 2 toward Southern Pines would connect directly to N.C. 211 toward Pinehurst by cutting through the current circle. Midland Road and Pinehurst are also accounted for without disrupting the flows. A smaller roundabout is also planned at N.C. 2 and Airport Road to control traffic movement. Still Solidly Opposed Despite what is a comparatively mollified effort, the Village Council is not sold on DOT’s latest conjuring. “We, the Village Council, do hereby proclaim we oppose the NCDOT proposal for our 70-year-old Traffic Circle,” reads the February resolution the council approved. “We believe it would impose on the property rights of some Pinehurst homeowners, be disruptive for our residents and visitors during a two-year construction project between 2031 and 2033, would not improve the safety of the PTC, and would have a negative impact on the aesthetics and special character of our village.” The resolution harkens back to responses from an October 2025 meeting in which nearly 60 percent of comments submitted to DOT opposed the latest proposal, along with comments and letters to the council highlighting potential needs for sound barriers, impacts on homes with septic systems, and overall traffic safety. The resolution goes on to suggest additional incremental changes to the circle — much like the previously installed bollards and earlier directional signage — including adjusted speed limits, additional signage, rumble strips and improved sightlines by adjusting road angles as they approach the circle. Based on demographic analysis, spearheaded by council member John Taylor, the resolution recommends reassessing 2050 traffic volume projections. The council highlights recent information from the State Demographer’s Office indicating a previously estimated 2050 Moore County population of 180,000, which has been reduced by 21.7 percent to 141,000. Additionally, the state reduced the expected 2050 population for the eight counties surrounding Moore by 46,572 compared to an estimate two years ago, which, according to the resolution, is “important because NCDOT correctly points out that traffic passing through the PTC is driven by more than just the local population.” As for safety, the resolution points to the circle’s 70-year history without a single traffic fatality and highlights that after 30 new roundabouts were introduced in North Carolina, total crashes decreased by 46 percent, fatal and injury crashes decreased by 76 percent and head-on crashes decreased by 75 percent. The resolution indicates that accidents in the circle peaked between 2021 and 2022 at 122, and that following the installation of lane dividers and clearer road signage, accidents declined to 77 and 78 over the last two years. The village does, however, support plans to widen U.S. 15-501 north of the circle, build an additional smaller circle at the intersection of Midland and Airport Roads and restrict vehicles' ability to turn at Beaver Lane. Moving Forward Despite the council’s efforts, DOT says it is pushing onward with the latest Circle redesign. In his letter dated Tuesday, March 17, Molamphy writes that DOT has taken public feedback from 2024 into consideration. “The new 2025 design minimizes tree removal, reduces property impacts, may eliminate property relocations and preserves much of the existing geometry to maintain the gateway to the village. “These revisions reflect direct feedback from the community and Village Council, which received more positive comments at the 2025 public meeting. The updated design also lowers projected costs by approximately $30 million compared to the earlier alternative.” The statement says that DOT has taken into account many of the council’s resolution points, but, considering the circle is a regional feature, the department must move forward even as various projections change. “We recognize and respect the concerns outlined in the Village Council’s resolution, including those related to population projections, traffic forecasts and the zero-fatality history at the Traffic Circle,” writes Molamphy. “However, regional travel demand is influenced by more than local population growth. The circle serves a critical regional function, carrying commuters, tourism, freight and emergency response traffic from across Moore County and surrounding areas. As a result, the Department must plan improvements that ensure long-term reliability even as forecasts evolve.” The department states that the circle project in 2016 was included in the State Transportation Improvement Plan after recognizing that the circle’s functionality was failing, and that the latest iteration “best balances safety, mobility, cost effectiveness and context sensitivity.” “As NCDOT advances toward final engineering and right of -way acquisition ahead of a planned 2031 construction start, we want to be transparent: the Department is proceeding with the 2025 design,” Molamphy continues. According to DOT, the project is planned between the 2029 and 2035 U.S. Open tournaments and will be coordinated along with improvements to U.S. 15-501 north of N.C. 211, “to avoid disruption to these events.” Contact Matt Lamb at (910) 693-2479 or mlamb@thepilot.com. ---------------------------------------------------------- https://www.thepilot.com/opinion/column-more-answers-needed-on-traffic-circle-before-dot-locks-in-a-new-design/article_57eb53e1-c7c3-4657-878a-d69d6d64fd0d.html Column: More Answers Needed on Traffic Circle Before DOT Locks in a New Design The N.C. Department of Transportation is to be congratulated for its recent public informational meeting to describe this year’s design for changes to the Pinehurst Traffic Circle. Like the design itself, the meeting was a substantial improvement over last year, with many representatives from both DOT and consultant HNTB available to answer questions. While the consensus of opinions I heard agreed that this was a step in the right direction, there was a similar consensus that the aesthetics of this design are too urban. ------------------------ SR 1905 (Voit Gilmore Lane) in Southern Pines to Sr 1208 (Page Road) in Pinehurst. Upgrade SR 1208 Intersection and Construct Improvements to Pinehurst Traffic Circle and Approaches. County : Moore Route : US 15 / US 501 Length (Miles) : 2.3 Sti Category Funded : Division 8 As of March 30, 2026 , the project is in Conceptual status Anticipated letting date is 2031 NC DOT - Intersection and Construct Improvements to Pinehurst Traffic Circle and Approaches *Project information has been obtained through a public state transportation improvement plan (STIP). A STIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the STIP often evolves based on funding availability. The project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.