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Miscellany Weather

Chapel Hill weather update

The official word from the Town of Chapel Hill:

Due to the accumulation of snow compacted by sleet and subfreezing temperatures over the weekend, the Town of Chapel Hill announces the following changes to services:

– Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed on Sunday, Jan. 31
– Chapel Hill Public Library will be closed on Sunday, Jan. 31
– Trash Collection routes normally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 1, will be postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 3
– All Chapel Hill Transit routes are operating with delays due to road conditions. In addition, buses will operate Safe Routes on Saturday night. Chapel Hill Transit will provide Tar Heel Express shuttle service on Sunday for the UNC men’s basketball game against the Virginia Cavaliers, scheduled for 7:45 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center. For more information about the Tar Heel Express service, visit: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?recordid=1468&page=22
– CHT will not be operating on the following streets/areas until further notice:
• Bowles Drive – NU Route (Customers can catch the NU on Manning Drive)
• Chapel Hill Public Library – DM Route
• Carol Woods, East Chapel Hill High School, Hillsborough Street – T Route
• Umstead and Severn – JN Route
• Pritchard Hill – JN Route
• Village Drive – JN

Although a vigorous effort to plow and salt the roads continues by both Town public works crews and crews from the NC Department of Transportation, road conditions continue to be treacherous, and residents are advised not to drive.

Thankfully, most are heeding this warning. Traffic is very minimal on Chapel Hill streets on Saturday. There have been nine reported weather-related accidents, all of which occurred on Friday night. Public safety officers are concerned about the safety of residents who are sledding and tobogganing in streets and traffic lanes. People are urged to never use streets or roads for sledding unless they are blocked off from traffic. Also, do not sled on icy hills; sledding hills should be only snow covered.

Public Works crews are working the roads with eight snow plow trucks, three motor graders and four box spreaders that spread salt and sand. The Town’s snow removal plan prioritizes all streets within the town limits giving first priority to major thoroughfares, bus routes and hospital areas. The second priority is the major collector streets that feed into the major arterial routes plus trouble spots such as hills and dangerous intersections. When these streets are passable the next focus is the minor collector streets and finally neighborhood streets.

In addition to the work of Town crews, the NC Department of Transportation also assists with snow removal on state-maintained major arterials. They have 12 snow plow trucks with box spreaders and two motor graders assigned to Chapel Hill and focus on the following streets: Franklin Street, Hwy 86 (MLK, Columbia and 15-501 by Southern Village, South Road/Raleigh Road/Hwy 54, Manning Drive and Fordham Boulevard.

Chapel Hill has an interactive Adverse Weather Map. See http://gis.townofchapelhill.org/adverse_weather. Many of the roads that have been treated or plowed are still considered treacherous and extreme caution should be used at all times.

Residents who wish to report non-emergency problems or ask questions may call the Public Works Department at 919-969-5100 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For emergencies, always call 911.

General Information – For information during inclement weather, Chapel Hill residents should visit the official Town website at www.townofchapelhill.org.

For updates from Chapel Hill Transit, visit its Inclement Weather page at www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=696 or call 919-969-4900 and press “1” for Route and Schedule Information – expect some wait time due to high call volumes. For EZ Rider/Shared Ride Services, call 919-969-5544.

Announcements about the weather’s effect on Town services are made on WCHL radio (1360 AM). Our inclement weather web page www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=851 contains many quick links to public services and guides to emergency preparation.