Bridge signage installed over Haw River to improve paddler safety

Pittsboro, NC – Signage depicting road names to help paddlers navigate on the Haw River and assist with emergency rescues has been hung on Chicken Bridge Rd, Highway 15/501 and Highway 64 bridges.

This initiative was led by the Haw River Safety Collaborative (HRSC), a group composed of Chatham and Alamance County officials, Haw River users, emergency managers, and Central Pines Regional Council planners. The group met monthly to address safety concerns along the river, with the goal of making the Haw River a safer and more welcoming place for all users. To achieve this, HRSC worked to improve mapping of the Haw, signage along the river, and education to river users.

The HRSC was funded via a Duke Energy Foundation Accelerator Grant Program award. This was one of ten projects funded through this award and coordinated by the NC Office for Recovery and Resilience via their Resilient Communities Program. NCDOT has also been a valuable partner in this project, providing guidance on sign design, sizing, placement, and installation.

Signs are posted on both the upriver and down river side of the bridges as wayfinding aids. In locations where the river has multiple channels and sightlines to the bridges may be limited due to islands with tall vegetation, multiple signs have been installed so paddlers in any location on the river will be able to view a sign as they pass the bridge. As this segment of the river is part of the Haw River State Trail, the signs also display the Haw River State Trail (HRST) logo.

For more information regarding the Haw River Trail in Chatham County or the work of the Haw River Safety Collaborative, please contact Ben Rippe , Chatham County Trails and Open Space Planner, at ben.rippe@chathamcountync.gov or 919-545-8553.