By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Dec. 24, 2020) The Berlin Mayor and Council met virtually with State Highway Administration (SHA) officials on Dec. 17 to discuss widening Route 376 from Route 113 to Flower Street for safety improvements.

SITE PLAN COURTESY STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
The Berlin Mayor and Council met virtually with State Highway Administration (SHA) officials on Dec. 17 to discuss transferring property along Route 376 to widen it from Route 113 to Flower Street for safety improvements.

“We’re widening this section so that there will be more room for people to take that left or go straight and still allow traffic to bypass that queue and take the right onto 113,”  said SHA Assistant District Engineer Dallas Baker.

Judd Vickers, real property supervisor at SHA, said SHA is asking the town to transfer a 630-square-foot parcel of property for road improvements on the corner of Route 376 and Decatur Street in Berlin.

“Just to the east or the right of that, you’ll see an area highlighted in orange as well as an area highlighted in orange on the north side of 376. Those areas are what we call perpetual easement areas,” Vickers said. “In those types of areas, the town retains ownership of the property but would give State Highway a perpetual easement to make drainage improvements as well as run utilities along those corridors.”

Doug Sommers, a real property manager at SHA, said a large drainage structure will be installed on that property.

On the south side of Route 376, SHA requested a temporary easement of a 1,136-square-foot parcel to be used by SHA during the construction period for equipment staging and grading, Vickers said.

The potential transfer may be formally approved after public advertising.

Sommers said the transfer would improve the flow of traffic at that intersection. In addition, the transfer would not interfere with the town’s paused plans to align Decatur and Flower streets for enhanced safety.

Planning Director Dave Engelhart said town staff, including Stormwater and Wastewater Superintendent Jamey Latchum and Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence, have met with SHA officials for four years about the alignment. Town engineers designed a plan to represent the new alignment, and the SHA representatives agreed on a conceptual level that it would work.

Engelhart added that the proposed widening of Route 376 takes into account the potential future alignment of Decatur and Flower streets.

“It’s not often that I get the chance to say this, but we’re being proactive to the community of Berlin,” Sommers said, regarding the installation of new sidewalks, utilities and road improvements.

Baker added that the widening of the road would limit the traffic pile-up on Route 376.

When Mayor Zackery Tyndall asked if the council wants to proceed with public advertising of the transfer so that it could be voted on at a meeting in January, Dean Burrell, vice president of the Town Council, said he did not want to move forward with the deeding without further discussing it among the council.

“The advertising doesn’t commit us to anything,” Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood clarified.

Councilmember Shaneka Nichols said she struggled to visualize the proposed improvements and asked for additional information.

“It doesn’t really sit well with me because my mind is still thinking about how congested and crazy that spot already is,” Nichols said.

Baker said a more detailed rendering could be provided.

Councilmember Troy Purnell suggested the existing town’s plans for the alignment of Decatur and Flower streets be provided to the newly elected council members.

Tyndall added that when the proposed transfer is formally considered in January, more information can be presented as well.

“It won’t be hard for us to send you kind of a before and after sketch,” Baker replied.