MORRISVILLE - Sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and intersection improvements are all part of the $1.2 million Morrisville Carpenter Road widening project scheduled to go to bid in the fall.

Residents and property owners will get a chance to learn about the project – which improves pedestrian access to Grace Park and mitigates the traffic bottlenecks on Savannah Drive – at a citizen information workshop Monday hosted by the N.C. Department of Transportation.

The workshop will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at Morrisville Town Hall, 100 Town Hall Drive in Morrisville.

The project will be paid for through a state Surface Transportation Program-Direct Allocation grant. Morrisville is responsible for providing a $350,000 match to the grant. About $250,000 will come from the town’s payment in lieu account and another $97,000 will come from the general fund.

The completion target date is October 2015, according to the town’s website.

The purpose of this project is to improve traffic capacity, as well as provide continuous additional lanes to fill in the existing gap between Davis and Old Savannah drives, according to the DOT notice.

DOT’s plans include widening the section of Morrisville Carpenter Road from Gratiot Drive to Leafy Creek Drive to five lanes, with a curb and gutter, as well as installing sidewalks.

Some project highlights from the town’s website:

• Road Widening – adding a lane along the northern side of Morrisville Carpenter Road, filling in a gap between Grace Park and the Ridgemont neighborhood known as the Progress Energy site.

• Pedestrian Crossings – installation of two high-visibility mid-block pedestrian crossings tentatively identified at the connection between the Grace Park and Morrisville Market Greenways and the Savannah neighborhood.

• Intersection improvements – this project will also “smooth out” the large wedge encountered when traveling on Davis Drive at Morrisville Carpenter Road.

For more information contact Ahmad Al-Sharawneh at 919-707-6010 or at aalsharawneh@ncdot.gov.