AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
The N.C. Department of Transportation says it plans to close a busy but dangerous railroad crossing near Meredith College and divert traffic to a less-used one nearby.
Read more Rep. Chuck Edwards of NC did not properly report trip to South Africa
NCDOT wants to close the Beryl Road crossing where the road meets Hillsborough Street at the Waffle House. It would extend Beryl Road about 500 feet to Royal Street, where drivers could cross the railroad to and from Hillsborough.
Beryl crosses the tracks at an angle about two car lengths from the Hillsborough Street traffic light. People who aren’t paying attention can find themselves in the path of a train, as when two drivers jumped out of their cars just before they were hit by Amtrak’s Piedmont in May 2024, said Brian Gackstetter, an engineer with NCDOT’s Rail Division.
“This crossing has a history of accidents and near misses because of the angle of the crossing and the proximity of the railroad crossing to Hillsborough Street,” Gackstetter wrote in an email. “Vehicles constantly stack across the crossing due to the traffic signal at Hillsborough Street, and the railroad is in a curve at this location, making it difficult to see down the tracks in either direction.”
NCDOT will share details of its plan and seek feedback at a public meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at Method Road Community Center. People can also learn more and submit comments by Sept. 27 at ncdot.publicinput.com/a82015.
Read more This popular bakery ‘lives up to its reputation’ — and now it ranks No. 1 in NC
An average of about 7,500 cars and trucks crossed the tracks at Beryl Road each day last year, according to NCDOT data. It’s the most direct route from Hillsborough Street to the Method community and the JC Raulston Arboretum, among other destinations.
Closing the Beryl crossing would mean eliminating the traffic light at Hillsborough Street. But it would mean adding another one at Royal and Hillsborough and building a new left turn lane for westbound Hillsborough. The nearby traffic light at the entrance to Meredith College would remain unchanged, Gackstetter said.
Extending Beryl to Royal would also mean taking two businesses: a utility contractor and an auto repair shop. NCDOT doesn’t expect to begin acquiring the property it needs for the project until the summer of 2030, with construction to begin two years later.
At this point, the project is estimated to cost $10.8 million.
NCDOT is working to close railroad crossings throughout the Triangle, both for safety and to improve traffic flow. Less than a mile from the Beryl crossing, contractors are working on an underpass that will carry Blue Ridge Road under Hillsborough, Beryl and the railroad tracks at once.
Read more With federal probe into domestic abuse program seemingly stalled, Wake DA steps in