Feb. 17. Construction of the twin roundabouts on Hwy. 21 at Catawba Avenue will cost $17.4 million, according to an agreement between the NCDOT and Cornelius. The agreement is expected to be approved Monday evening Feb. 17 at the Town Board meeting.
All but $502,000 will be paid by the state, but any cost overruns will be the town’s responsibility.
The project is the NCDOT’s final determination of how best to handle traffic at the busy Hwy. 21/Catawba intersection where a new QuikTrip convenience store will be built.
Previous plans—which were ultimately rejected—included one which would have required left turning traffic on eastbound Catawba to navigate a right turn past the intersection first, somewhat similar to the design of the NC73/US 21 intersection in Huntersville.
This option would have required the acquisition of significant land southeast of the intersection. It was met with strong community opposition.
The south roundabout will be located just east of the entrance to the Lucky Dog restaurant, while the north roundabout will be just past the old Days Inn property, where a new State Employees Credit Union will be built.
The town’s $502,000 portion of the funding has already been paid to the DOT. The remainder of the project cost will come from NCDOT I77 Bonus Allocation Funds.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the first of two public hearings will be conducted on a request by Sitetec Inc to erect five flex buildings on vacant land southwest of the Circle K on Bailey Road near NC 115.
The meeting will commence at 7 pm in Town Hall on Catawba Avenue.
