Holly Springs committee reviews Hickory Road realignment; staff says short full closure may be required

Jacob, a city staff member, told the Holly Springs City Public Works Committee during a special called meeting that the Hickory Springs Industrial Drive realignment and Hickory Road project is roughly 80% through final design and that the team is developing staging and detour plans to limit public impact.

The plan calls for building a new alignment and a single-span bridge on the Hickory Springs Industrial Drive first, switching traffic to that new roadway, and then completing the Hickory Road work. Jacob said the main engineering challenge is that Hickory Road must be raised about 5–6 feet, which makes working under live traffic difficult; to meet that need he described a possible short, intensive closure "for a long weekend" with the contractor working around the clock to rebuild the intersection and restore signals.

Why it matters: the corridor carries high volumes, and staff stressed minimizing delay for through traffic and maintaining emergency access. Jacob repeatedly emphasized the need to keep traffic flowing, saying, "I need to keep 17,000 cars a day not stopping." He told the committee the full construction duration is likely about two years from start to finish, and that the new Hickory Springs Parkway and the completed four-lane Hickory Road (including turn lanes) would open together when the project finishes.

On staging, Jacob described two principal phases: stage 1 builds the new industrial drive and its bridge off to the side so existing Hickory traffic is largely unaffected; stage 2 connects the new road to the existing system and requires rerouting traffic to the new alignment while the Hickory Road segment is reconstructed. During stage 2, detour segments would be reduced to about 25 mph and industrial movements may be handled at stop signs while through traffic remains free-flowing as much as possible.

Committee members asked about bridge geometry and lane counts; Jacob said the Hickory Road bridge will accommodate multiple lanes and turn lanes over a relatively short span (about 70–80 feet). When asked whether the alignment could be shifted farther to avoid waterways, Jacob said constraints from a parallel creek made alternate tie-ins impractical and that waterway mitigation will be necessary.

Right-of-way acquisitions and schedule: Jacob said the project is in the right-of-way process and final design, and he expects to complete design in conjunction with right-of-way purchases by the end of the year. He said three pieces of right-of-way will be required for the portion discussed and noted utility/right-of-way coordination is ongoing.

Next steps: staff will continue final design and right-of-way negotiations and return with refined staging and detour plans. Committee members stressed the importance of advance public notice, contingency planning to preserve emergency access and considering school/spring-break calendars when scheduling an intensive closure.

Closing note: no formal action was taken on the Hickory Road project at this meeting; the committee moved on to approve minutes and other reports.