City works to alleviate traffic delays on Carolina Beach Road

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - With school starting and a portion of River Road closing, drivers say they have been dealing with traffic tie-ups and delays on Carolina Beach Road.

"As you come onto Carolina Beach Road at the Walmart it is pretty much a standstill," said Rose Marie Deaver.  Deaver drives down Carolina Beach Road every morning on her way home from work. "It used to be a nice quick, I can do this in 15 to 20 minutes to get home, now you are talking at least 30 minutes and it is not smooth."

"I live down by Carolina Beach and it takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to get anywhere," said Megan Starnes, the mother of two small children. "You have to add in extra time during your day just to get anywhere, and with stop-and-go traffic and two kids in the car, it just becomes a bit of a nuisance."

City Traffic Engineers said they knew this was going to be an issue when River Road closed. They have been monitoring the traffic every morning on Carolina Beach Road from their Command Center. Engineers have also been making minor adjustments at traffic signals.

For example, at the intersection of Carolina Beach Road and Independence Blvd. they shifted the time of the green light to be longer on Carolina Beach Road, and in return shorter on Independence Blvd.

While they can shorten some of the delays, City Traffic Engineers say the traffic will be a problem until River Road reopens simply because traffic is being rerouted onto an already busy road.

"We are going to try reduce the delay associated with the event or reduce the time frame," said Don Bennett , Traffic Engineering Manager. "For example instead of being a problem for an hour and a half maybe we can make it only a problem for 45 min."

River Road is expected to reopen in late December.

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