Street Maintenance

The town maintains drainage areas on town-maintained property, rights of way, and easements to ensure they remain free of growth and other obstructions that restrict water flow. Grass is mowed periodically, and trees are removed or trimmed to prevent roots from penetrating sewer lines and to keep the rights of way clear. Erosion may require the town to install riprap, grass seed and straw or other erosion-control devices.

Before work is done on an easement, the property owner will be contacted about the purpose and approximate duration of the work to be performed. The advance notice gives property owners an opportunity to ask questions and to remove personal items prior to clearing. During clearing, a town employee is on site at all times to monitor progress and address community members' concerns.

Request maintenance by placing a work order by email or by calling 919-296-9600.

Public Works employees remove animals that have been struck by vehicles from town-maintained roads, including rights of way. These roads must be in the town limits. The town does not remove animals from private property. 

Report a dead animal by placing a work order by email or by calling 919-296-9600. Call 911 to report conditions that pose an immediate threat to safety.

Street and traffic signs are installed and maintained by the Public Works Division. Posters or other signage may not be placed on any sign or post.

Report problems by placing a work order by email or by calling 919-296-9600.

Plowing guidelines

Plowing is conducted to ensure emergency responders have safe and timely access. Public Works employees monitor snowfall on pavement for when and how to plow:

• Employees plow all town-maintained streets, giving first priority to the town's bridges, emergency services and the county refueling station within town limits.
• During heavy snow events, employees concentrate all efforts on keeping the bridges, emergency services and the county refueling station clear until conditions allow them to plow the remaining streets within the town limits.
• Plowing is discontinued if it is ineffective or creates more hazardous conditions.

Responsibilities

The town's main thoroughfares are owned and maintained by the state. See the State-Maintained Streets section of this page for a listing of those roads.

In addition, some streets within town limits are private roads and are not maintained by the town. The town is not responsible for clearing driveways after plowing.

Parks and greenways are not a priority for snow removal. The town does not remove snow or ice from sidewalks in town but will clear sidewalks around town facilities as time allows. Property and business owners are responsible for snow and ice removal from sidewalks in front of structures they own or occupy.

More information

See the map below and the Videos section on this page. Additional information on winter weather preparations and operations is available in the Cold Weather Resources section of the Ready Hillsborough page on this website.

Some roads within Hillsborough town limits are private or state roads. See the map below for which roads are maintained privately or by the town or state.

All questions and concerns about state-maintained streets should be directed to the North Carolina Department of Transportation at 919-296-6080. This includes questions and concerns about signs; snow removal; and pavement, curb, and gutter repairs. The state maintains these streets within town:

• West Hill Avenue North and South
• Oakdale Drive
• Dimmocks Mill, Eno Mountain, Faucette Mill, Harper (Dalton Street to Tuliptree Road), Locust, Orange Grove (west of Churton Street), Revere, St. Mary's and Tuliptree roads
• Allison, Churton, Cornelius, Dalton, King (West Hill Avenue to Cameron Street), Mayo, and Nash streets
• U.S. 70A and U.S. 70 East
• N.C. 86 South

Street sweeping

The town sweeps curb and gutter streets on the last Friday of each month during early morning hours. To ensure safety and effective sweeping:

• Maintain a safe distance from the street-sweeping truck during operation.
• Do not park vehicles on curb and gutter streets the last Friday morning of each month.
• Do not place brush, leaves or other vegetation on streets with curbing.

Report issues

When reporting an issue, please provide the specific location of the problem, such as the nearest street address or intersection.

• Call 911 to report a broken or dislocated drain cover or other conditions that pose an immediate threat to safety.
• Report a blocked storm drain by placing a work order by email or by calling 919-296-9600.
• Report illegal dumping into storm drains to the Stormwater and Environmental Services Division.

Streetlights

Report streetlights in need of maintenance to the service company, providing an address or pole number for the streetlight. For streetlights within the:

• Duke Energy service area — notify the company by calling 800-777-9898 or by completing an outdoor lighting repair request on the company's website.
• Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation service area — notify the company by calling 919-732-2123 or by completing a contact form on the company's website. Mark the affected pole with a ribbon.

Traffic signals

Traffic signals are not maintained by the town. For problems with traffic signals, contact the N.C. Department of Transportation online or at 877-368-4968.