Reporter – Leigh Hester – State Department of Transportation representatives Monday night pitched a “one way pair” idea for future expansions of Dabney Drive in downtown Henderson.
The plan, which would entail converting the current Dabney Drive to a two-lane one-way street for southbound traffic, and which would use Corbitt Drive and the unused railway to build a second one-way street for northbound traffic, was tentatively approved by the City Council. While there was not an official vote, Council approval allows the state DOT to begin the process that will amend Henderson’s Transportation Improvement Plan, a program used by the state to determine which construction projects gain priority funding. According to DOT representatives Lauren Nichols and Mike Ciriello, actual construction on the project is still 15 to 20 years off, and may be completed in sections.
Both representatives acknowledged that this plan may take residents and businesses on Dabney Drive some time to accept. However, several intersections on Dabney were identified as already unsafe and over capacity during a survey of Vance County residents.
“There are not a lot of options in the area,” said Ciriello. “Widening the road will require the annexation of a lot of land and significant building demolishment.”
Tom Spain, a resident of the area and the Director of the Nutbush Water Reclamation facility, pointed out that the former railroad had been deeded back to property owners around the railroad and was no longer a deeded easement. He also pointed out that those residents caught between Dabney and Cooper would be surrounded by traffic and noise as a result of the change.
Currently the project is still conceptual and moving forward requires an environmental analysis, approved design, and safety analysis. As conceptualized by Nicholls and Ciriello, the new one-way pair will include sidewalks for pedestrians and a multi-use path for bicycles.
City Manager Ray Griffin said of the project, “If we see any construction at all in ten years it will be a miracle. More likely construction would begin in 15 to 20 years.”