Traffic moves along Old Wire Road between Ash and Township streets in east Fayetteville.

Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff

A long-awaited improvement project will bring sidewalks and bicycle access to Old Wire Road in east Fayetteville.

The work is one of many projects included in the Transportation Improvement Bond Program (see updated list) voters approved in 2006, and is part of a multi-phase plan to revamp the entire stretch of Old Wire west of Crossover Road.

Phase one includes an already announced traffic signal and intersection overhaul at Mission Boulevard, which is set to begin construction later this year.

The first phase of improvements includes sidewalk construction from Crossover Road to Stanton Avenue.

Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff

After that, crews will begin a three-step project to widen the intersections at Ash and Township streets, and add sidewalks, trails or bike lanes between Mission Boulevard and Crossover Road.

Members of the City Council’s Transportation Committee approved cross-section designs earlier this month which show plans for each phase of the work.

Up first is a smaller project to construct 5-foot sidewalks along Old Wire that will fill the gaps from Crossover Road to Stanton Avenue.

After that, the plan is to build a separated, 12-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path on the east side of Old Wire from Stanton to Ash Street. This will connect trail users to the bike lanes on Rolling Hills Drive through an existing bikeway along Stanton and Loxley avenues. The new Old Wire path will eventually tie into a planned multi-use trail that will run northwest from an area near Stanton, through the neighborhoods north of Gulley Park, and then to Crossover Road.

The final phase of the project will add new curbs, bike lanes, and sidewalks on each side of Old Wire from Ash to Mission Boulevard. The west side of Old Wire will include a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, and the east side will include a 10-foot-wide sidewalk.

According to city documents, work on the stretch from Crossover to Stanton is set to begin in late 2015, with the final two phases coming in 2016.

Old Wire Road cross-section design

Source: City of Fayetteville