There are residents of Holly Springs that feel the traffic on Avent Ferry Road is unbearable and unacceptable. I spent nine years living in Atlanta. The only time the traffic on Avent Ferry Road bothers me, is when I forget that it’s one of the “bad” times, and I don’t leave myself the extra three minutes it takes to get to my destination.
I understand that to compare the size of Holly Springs to the size of Atlanta, is like comparing the HSHS football stadium to Carter-Finley Stadium. I suppose the frustration comes from knowing that we live in a small town, and we shouldn’t have larger-city traffic in a small town.
I decided to grab the ear of the one man in this town that hears more complaints about the traffic than anyone else; Mayor Sears.
He explained that to better understand how we got here, I needed to know where we’d been. Like so many other Holly Springians, (I know that’s not a real term, but it’s fun to say) I haven’t been here long enough to see the growth and changes that took place before I moved here.
So, the Mayor offered some insight to traffic on Avent Ferry, something he’s been dealing with for years.
Words from the Mayor
This update will cover what the Town has done to mitigate this issue and there will probably be more in the future.
It has been our top priority for some time.
2004
The County selected sites for Holly Grove Middle and Holly Grove Elementary on Avent Ferry/Cass Holt Road. The High School is just around the corner on Cass Holt. We approached funding from WCPSS and DOT to implement improvements but to no avail.
(This has had a dramatic impact on traffic.)
2006
Schools open.
2006/07
Town funds a 3rd lane, widening project on Avent Ferry from the Bypass to Cass Holt. ($1,745,433)
2008
Town participates in funding a signal at Avent Ferry and Cass Holt. ($76,990)
2010
Town participates in funding a signal at Avent Ferry and Piney Grove Wilbon. ($70,000)
2010/17
The Main Street Extension, which should remove 1/3 of the traffic on Avent Ferry, obtained Design, Right of Way, and Construction Funds from NCDOT. Construction completion date 2017. ($13,516,378 total–NCDOT paying ($8,684,274)
2012/16
The Avent Ferry/Bypass Intersection Improvements: Town obtains Design, Right of Way, and Construction funds from NCDOT, completed in 2016. ($1,600,000 total-NCDOT paying $1,152,500). (I have been informed that it made it much better.)
2012/18
Avent Ferry widening from the Bypass to Piney Grove Wilbon: Town obtains Design, Right of Way, and Construction funds from NCDOT at an 80/20 match.
Construction to be complete in 2018. ($2,000,000 total of which NCDOT is paying $1,600,000)
2017 /22
Avent Ferry widening from Piney Grove Wilbon to Cass Holt: We were able to lobby with NCDOT to get Avent Ferry on the NCDOT Transportation Plan, scheduled to be complete in 2022. This is
the section that CalAtlantic was going to complete a large section if the WOOD Rezoning would have passed. Please stay tuned!
In summary, I hope this has been helpful and informative. We do listen. My compliments to the Town Staff, the Council, and to our Director of Engineering, Kendra Parrish (also just re-elected as Vice Chair of the TCC (The Triangle Community Coalition) who acts in a similar role to our Planning Board at The State MPO/CAMPO). (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) My role is the Chair of the Executive Board of the MPO/CAMPO, 5 County Board with NCDOT and we are all proud to represent the Citizens of Holly Springs.
Sincerely,
Dick Sears, Mayor
