Definitely not for the birds and probably not big enough for a plane to land on, Holly Springs is considering turning a portion of the N.C. 55 bypass into a superstreet.

Holly Springs and N.C. Department of Transportation officials explained the concept at a public information meeting Thursday at the town’s Hunt Community Center.

A relatively new transportation concept, a superstreet reconfigures highway intersections to reduce the number of direct crossings and directing motorists to use strategically placed left-turn lanes to make U-turns to reach the other side of the road.

“It gives us a lot of flexibility because we’ve disconnected two roads,” said James Dunlop, congestion management engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Though the idea may sound cumbersome at first, experience has already shown that the roads make travel on the highway safer and more efficient, Dunlop said.

Developers of New Hill Place, a proposed commercial and multifamily development northwest of the intersection of New Hill Road and the N.C. 55 Bypass, brought the idea to the agency, Dunlop said.

The Holly Springs Town Council was scheduled to act on the development’s site plan Tuesday. The council’s decision was not known at press time.

Stephanie Sudano, Holly Springs’ director of engineering, said that if the project receives the necessary approvals, implementation of the superstreet could start “over the next couple of years.”

Superstreets were first used on U.S. 301 in Maryland, Dunlop said, and there are six in North Carolina.

A superstreet works by preventing minor cross streets from going straight across a divided highway intersection, Dunlop said.

Instead, traffic from the cross streets turns right and then proceeds about 800 to 1,000 feet where it turns left and makes a U-turn into a “bulb out” that provides room for the turn to be completed and allow the merge into traffic to begin. When the vehicle reaches the other side of the minor cross street, it makes a right turn to go back on the cross street.

This approach reduces “conflict points” at or near intersections, which increases safety, Dunlop said.

“We spread out the movements so you’re making one movement at a time,” Dunlop said.

The setup also allows for fewer traffic signals, Dunlop said, and that factor, combined with signal synchronization, keeps highway traffic flowing more steadily.

Since more cars stay moving superstreets help reduce pollutants generated during idling, Dunlop said.

Depending on a variety of factors, the left-turn lanes into the bulb outs may or may not be signalized, Dunlop said.

Because there are fewer interchanges the superstreet is typically cheaper than a traditional arrangement with signals. Dunlop said that it costs about $1 million to retrofit an intersection for a superstreet compared to putting in an interchange, which can cost between $2.5 million and $10 million.