Granville County to apply for federal Safe Streets grant to fund roundabout at US‑15 & Hester Road with 20% local match

Granville County commissioners voted to apply for a federal Safe Streets & Roads for All grant on May 18 to support construction of a roundabout at the intersection of US‑15 and Hester Road, a site county and NCDOT staff identified as a high‑injury intersection.

Planning Director Baker outlined the project and said NCDOT projects a $900,000 funding deficit for construction of a traffic circle; the federal grant can cover $720,000 (80%) while the county would be responsible for a 20% local match (about $180,000). Baker and Kenneth Withrow of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization provided crash history and engineering rationale, noting 27 reported accidents at the intersection between 2020 and 2024, including one fatality in that period.

Withrow described roundabouts as an effective countermeasure at high‑injury intersections and said they reduce conflict points and severe‑crash risk. He and Baker said design features such as truck aprons are part of engineering solutions to accommodate large vehicles. Commissioners asked for the most recent crash counts, whether the four‑way stop installed in 2022 had standalone post‑installation statistics and whether other high‑injury intersections in the county might be candidates for future grants. Planner Baker said the data provided covered 2020–24 and that DOT had identified the Hester/US‑15 location as appropriate for a roundabout in its engineering assessment.

After discussion, a motion to accept the planning director’s recommendation and move forward with the grant application and required local match carried on a board vote. County staff noted the grant application deadline is rapid and stressed the need to assemble required materials for May 26 submission.