U.S. 1 Landscaping Topic of Wednesday Meeting

Crape myrtles in U.S. 1 median Photo by Glenn M. Sides

As of Friday, July 29, 2011

State and local officials will meet next week to begin developing a plan for plantings and landscaping along U.S. 1 that will mitigate the imminent loss of hundreds of crape myrtles.

Southern Pines Town Manager Reagan Parsons said the town will sit down Wednesday with N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) officials at their Aberdeen district office.

"We're simply there to listen and to learn," Parsons said Thursday.

The crape myrtles will be removed once Barnhill Construction Co. begins work in mid-August to install 3.6 miles of guardrail on U.S. 1 from Morganton Road in Southern Pines to Valley View Road by Hyland golf course. NCDOT awarded the contract to Barnhill in June after the company submitted a bid of slightly more than $1 million.

Work on the hazard-elimination project is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 30.

The crape myrtles were planted two decades ago to enhance the U.S. 1 median before the return of major championship golf to Moore County.

Ted Vaden, deputy secretary of internal and external affairs for NCDOT, said in an email that Barnhill will not start work before the meeting.

The goal of the meeting will be "developing a plan for plantings that can help mitigate or offset the beautification loss caused by the removal of the crape myrtles," Vaden said.

NCDOT Division Engineer Tim Johnson told Parsons in an email Wednesday that Barnhill can start anytime and "we do not plan to stop the project."

"The purpose of the meeting is to present some possible planting/landscaping options that may occur after the current guardrail installation project is completed and ascertain the town's willingness to provide the maintenance for some items," Johnson said.

NCDOT has cited the 29 median-related crashes, including two fatalities in separate accidents, during a five-year study period from Feb. 1, 2004, to Jan. 31, 2009, as the main reason for the change.

"I regret that we cannot accomplish the town's goal of saving the crape myrtles in the median," Johnson wrote in a July 15 letter to Mayor Mike Haney, "but I hope you understand our imperative to provide a safe roadway for the traveling public."

The state explored using Brifen rail, which would have allowed for one line of guardrail that may have been adjusted in the median to save some of the crape myrtles. But the median is too narrow for Brifen so two lines of standard metal galvanized guardrail will be used.

The crape myrtles were planted around the time the season-ending PGA Tour Championship was conducted at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1991 and 1992, and the 1994 U.S. Senior Open was contested on the famed Donald Ross golf course.

Since then, the resort has hosted the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens as well as the 2008 U.S. Amateur. Pine Needles has also hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1996, 2001 and 2007.

The demise of the crape myrtles comes as NCDOT prepares to implement its 2014 U.S. Open Regional Enhancement Plan. Renovation and rejuvenation of the plantings at the Midland Road and Pennsylvania Avenue interchanges along U.S. 1 will begin later this year.

The 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open will be held in back-to-back weeks at Pinehurst No. 2.

Contact Ted M. Nattt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.

More like this story

Poundman 1 year, 9 months ago

The Town of Suffering Pines should tell them we don't need the guard rails or the Crapes removed and to use the money to help balance the States budget, then get up and walk out. Don't take any part in the DOT's ignorance!

moonchild7 1 year, 9 months ago

They are NOT being truthfull. The median is NOT too narow. This info is NOT from me but from someone I know who works with another MAJOR DOT System. LAZY ENGINEERING. Bad driving skills cannot be improved upon by removing a few bushes. Stop.

lambchop1325 1 year, 9 months ago

Simply incomprehensible.

JohnChappell 1 year, 9 months ago

There's a story about a similar problem in England. Lovely old oak trees bounding a road were threatened by a highway widening project. The highway people offered to plant new oaks, further apart, as replacements.

The council considered the offer, and finally agreed -- on one condition.

Those 400-year-old oaks could be cut oncethe new ones reached the same size, the council said.

Curl58 1 year, 9 months ago

I would like to know how many of the 29 crashes were due to alcohol? Majority of articles I have seen over the past couple years on Highway 1 accidents have been due to drinking and driving. I would like to also know who is going to be responsible for covering the cost to repair the guardrails each time they are damaged. I'm all for safety, but spending a significant amount of money because the law can't be followed doesn't make sense to me. How many additional police or highway patrols could be added to monitor Highway 1 for the same cost as the guardrail installation.

invmc 1 year, 9 months ago

Dont get me wrong, I'm not a tree hugger or anything, but it makes absolutely no sense to destroy all of those trees and then spend a million plus dollars to put up a guard rail system. If the DOT is so concerned about the potential of cars veering off of the roadway and into oncoming traffic on the opposite side, then why dont we have guardrails right down the middle of every 2 lane road?? Think about it, we typically drive on a 2 lane road the majority of the time. Cars passing by each other in excess of 55 mph with only a matter of a couple of feet and sometimes just inches between each other. You have a greater chance of being involved in a head on fatal collision on Hwy 211 or Union Ch. Rd. than on U.S. 1. I'm all about traffic safety, but there's absolutely no logic behind this.

Arestorer 1 year, 9 months ago

12 feet from dead every time you meet someone on a 2 lane road...

ncsnafu1 1 year, 9 months ago

I think the first thing Southern Pines needs to ask the NCDOT is why there is not room for a single line of Brifen rail yet there is room for two lines of steel guardrail. The Brifen system has been proven better at containing cross-median accidents and is made in U.S. Furthermore, with the crapes offset from the center the Brifen cable rail system could be installed in the center of the median and save the trees. I think the real issue is the NCDOT not wanting to maintain the trees any longer.

ALDamone 1 year, 9 months ago

I'm no state paid engineer, but I can't understand how the median is "too narrow" for the Brifen rail, which is more narrow and takes up less space than the standard guard rails.

I think you are spot on ncsnafu1, they don't want to maintain the trees. And if Wake county is any example, they also don't want to have to maintain the Brifen rail following any damages they sustain after an accident.

CSmithson 1 year, 9 months ago

From a 7-15-11 letter to the Town from the DOT engineer:

"The Brifen rail is not suitable for this location because the rail is designed to deflect when it is hit; therefore, there must be a wide enough median so the Brifen rail can deflect eleven feet when it is hit by a vehicle. The median on this segment of US 1 is less than ten feet in most areas."

Just passing along the DOT's "why" explanation.

CNMT 1 year, 9 months ago

I am not an engineer either (and I didn't sleep at at Holiday Inn Express last night!) but I want to know who they will blame after they replace the trees with guard rails and there are still accidents and fatalities along that stretch of US 1???? There are hundreds of miles of highway in North Carolina with standard guard rails or Brifen rails and there are still fatalities on those highways. I just don't believe the guard rails will prevent fatal car accidents any more than the crepe myrtles have been the reason why they have occurred. You can't fix stupid - not even with duct tape!

peterprints 1 year, 9 months ago

One has only to look at the deforestation along 211 at the hospital to envision our future. If their premise for cutting down these trees stands, then Linden Rd and Midland Rd are next. I'm sorry, I'm a Yankee who got here as soon as I could and love the pace of the South. We don't need to pour Agent Orange on our trees to facilitate the out of control and culturally destructive driving habits of New Yorkers and New Jerseyites who say they love their new southern digs. They moved into and screwed up every country village and town from here to Bayonne, NJ and now they want to do it to us. Hey. here's an idea, how about accepting us as we are? How about not trying to get a Dean and Deluca or a Zabar's in Southern Pines. D&D does Fedex. Leave our trees, our myrtles, our pace of life and or wonderful linguistic idioms alone. And if someone who's trying to help you calls you "Dearie" or "Sweetie", don't get upset..Y'all try to remember the last time someone at Dean and Deluca called you that.

ncsnafu1 1 year, 9 months ago

@CSmithson: Thanks for DOT BS. Suggest that they take a look at Brifen.com before quoting a 10' requirement. Further, cable rail systems are designed to ensnare a vehicle not deflect it back into the travel lane as a steel rail will do. Here's a suggestion for the DOT meeting - tell them that SP will maintain the crapes going forward if they'll leave them. SP has nothing to lose with this offer as it appears that Mr. Johnson is going to ask SP for maintenance funding for whatever is done.

NCgolfer 1 year, 9 months ago

Have to agree with Curl58. Better enforcement, particuarly rolling DUI patrols would make more sense than guardrails to try to keep the drunks on their side of the road. Word gets around when an area has a reputation for strict enforcement.

truthmatterstome2 1 year, 9 months ago

Have any of you traveled north of Southern Pines to see the condition of the trees? With the exception of a few that are near Southern Pines exits, the "trees" look more like sick scrubs! I, for one, believe that if one life is saved by the addition of a guardrail it is worth removing the scrubs. Just imagine if you lost a friend or relative because the guardrail wasn't installed because you preferred a scrub. Whether the accident was caused by a drunk driver, or not, makes no difference. A dead person is dead, period. S--- happens! When you can avoid stepping in it, you should.

buddysmith 1 year, 9 months ago

"we do not plan to stop the project", according to DOT. so i guess all this oppostion means nothing in the dot's eyes?? why dont the dot tell the truth, we have to spend a gozillion dollars a year so we can keep getting a gozillion dollars a year for our budget. to heck with what the taxpayers say!! why are these trees such a problem now, and have never even been mentioned before?? the "2014 US Open regional enhancement plan" is going to cost us, how much total?? do we get free tickets seeing we are paying for the project??

Bflat 1 year, 9 months ago

How many fatalities were directly caused by a Crape Myrtle in the median, if any? And, were there primary contributing factors by the driver such as alcohol, drugs,speeding and so on?

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