The City Council voted Monday night to approve asking the state DOT to conduct a feasibility study which would examine the possibility of expanding Dabney Drive into two one-way streets, with Corbitt Road and parts of the former railway line forming semi-parallel alternate avenues.
The plan would likely create busy thoroughfares on either side of many properties for several blocks north for Parham Street.
The alternate plan suggested by transportation planners at the October City Council meeting would entail expansion of Dabney Drive, causing significant condemnation of properties under public domain and would require significant building demolishment.
The feasibility study in no way obligates Henderson to move forward with the plan, and funding would likely be 15-20 years out, but if the study is approved and added to the City’s Transportation Improvement Plan, the future expansion would be inevitable.
Earlier this year, in a survey conducted by the NC DOT, Dabney was identified as an area of concern by Henderson residents. According to traffic counts conducted by NC DOT, several sections of Dabney were already beyond roadway capacity as early as 2007, and in a few areas, traffic counts already exceed the 2035 traffic estimates.