Franklin Boulevard Closure and Battleground Lane Work, Paving Notices Disrupt Greensboro Commutes

NCDOT’s Project P-5709, Franklin Boulevard Grade Separation, will remove the at-grade railroad crossing on Franklin Boulevard, construct a new grade-separated railroad bridge over Franklin Boulevard, and permanently close the O’Ferrell Street rail crossing, the agency’s PublicInput page states. The project page says, “The project is needed to reduce the potential for roadway vehicle/train conflicts at the at-grade crossings as rail traffic volumes increase in the future,” and warns that “Once construction begins, road closures, detours, and changes to traffic patterns will be necessary to safely complete the project.”

PublicInput estimates the overall construction period for P-5709 at “approximately 2.5 to 3 years.” The project page identifies likely impacts on Franklin Boulevard, Burlington Road, Lowdermilk Road, and O’Ferrell Street at different times during construction and notes that specific schedules will depend on the contractor’s construction plan and be posted on the project website as details are finalized.

City of Greensboro Transportation Services posted multiple mid-February 2026 work notices announcing short-term lane and road closures tied to annual paving and road maintenance projects. The city notices were posted in mid-February 2026 and listed multiple closures; one excerpt preserved in the records shows “Among the items listed in the city’s service updates were the closure of Fran” (truncated). The broader service updates included lane work that the city identified as short-term paving and maintenance for this week.

Public engagement documents and workshop notes show mixed local reactions ahead of the formal construction phase. A TSS public workshop recorded that “Twenty-nine citizens signed-in at the workshop, and two written comments were received by the NCDOT Rail Division and the NCDOT Human Environment Unit.” Workshop and comment fragments include a Clapp Farms Road resident’s pitch that “commuter rail be provided between Greensboro and Burlington, per May 2010 NCRR Study on Demand for Commuter Rail in NC, instead of widening U.S. 70,” and one Franklin Boulevard entry that recorded “No written comment received.”

Residents and businesses near crossings raised specific operational concerns. A Buchanan Church Road resident noted heavy truck use of a crossing, stating trucks cross “at least 30 time per day,” and warned that drivers sometimes ignore safety gates, adding that “trains always ‘win’ in train/vehicle crashes.” Tri-City Auto Salvage, adjacent to the Maxfield Road railroad crossing, “called and e-mailed with concerns about closing the crossing,” and the record preserves the fragmented warning that “Closure would prevent access to the business’s [...]” O’Ferrell Street drew opposition from a resident on Aunt Mary Avenue who “does not want O’Ferrell Street closed,” while another entry recorded that a resident on Franklin Boulevard “liked and approved of the plans presented at the time.”

NCDOT workshop materials also identify crossing numbers and longer-range recommendations: O’Ferrell Street is Crossing # 722 961B, with a short-term recommendation to “Continue to operate the crossing as an at-grade crossing” and a long-term recommendation to “Close the existing crossing, contingent on the grade-separation of Franklin Boulevard or the eastern extension of Naco Road to Ward Road (this crossing is also planned for full-closure and new street with grade-separation).” Ward Road appears as Crossing # 722 962H with a long-term recommendation to “Close the existing crossing and create an underpass grade-separation of Ward Road immediately east of it,” and that Ward Road grade-separation is listed in the Greensboro MPO Long Range Transportation Plan for horizon year 2025.

With short-term city paving notices already posted and P-5709 slated to reshape crossings around Franklin Boulevard over a multi-year construction window, commuters, businesses near Maxfield Road and O’Ferrell Street, and residents on Burlington Road and Lowdermilk Road should expect phased closures and detours as contractor plans are issued and NCDOT posts detailed schedules on the project website.