Both lanes of W. Catawba are open
Aug. 25. UPDATE NOON TUESDAY. Town officials said they once again had “no idea” road construction crews at the new Dunkin’ Donuts would be back at it again Monday on West Catawba opposite Griffin Bros. Tire & Auto. West Catawba was down to one lane of traffic, with cars backed up as far as Sam Furr Road. At one point, flagmen allowed two lanes of traffic in the same direction, resulting in chaos and, yes, yelling and whistle blowing.
The east-bound lane was closed until 4 pm Monday. The NCDOT said the lane will be closed again Tuesday, from 9 am to noon. It was in fact open by 1 pm.
West Catawba amounts to Cornelius’ main business street, in light of the number of merchants, restaurants and banks that line the thoroughfare. Monday was also the first day of school.
Town officials said the NCDOT apparently allowed the construction company to undertake paving without notifying the town.
An NCDOT spokesperson said this at 12:18 pm Monday: “In cases where the construction is being completed by a private developer, it is routinely the developer’s responsibility to notify parties of any potential construction impacts. NCDOT met with the developer last week and emphasized the importance of keeping traffic flowing in that area. We have an NCDOT staffer checking out the site this afternoon. With that being said, we are currently in contact with the town to see how we can improve communication among developers, the town and NCDOT in the future.”
It all began Saturday
The mess began to unfold Saturday morning when a new right-turn lane was being paved for the Dunkin Donuts. Then, too, the town was not notified and traffic came to a virtual standstill in each direction. Although the addition of a turning lane had been a requirement for the Dunkin’ Donuts rezoning that was approved by the Town several months ago, there was no warning to the public about the weekend construction.
Jessica Shettleroe Bern said it took her 25 minutes to travel a half mile on Saturday. At 3:30 pm Monday, Patricia Wimmer Richardson said it took her 45 minutes to travel from Westmoreland to Jetton.
Here’s our communication with Town Manager Anthony Roberts on Saturday:
Cornelius Today: Hi guys do you know what’s happening? We should put up a note on www.corneliustoday.com. Traffic is backed up pretty far and cars are making U-eez.
Roberts: I just heard it was Dunkin’ Donuts. Let me check with PD.
Roberts: Yep.
Cornelius Today: So, this is a private paving job, and traffic is literally backed up from dunkin donuts to Ladd McCall? And I’m guessing you guys were not kept in the loop?
Roberts: You got it.
Wayne Herron, the town’s Planning Director, provided this explanation to town officials: “On an NCDOT Road, NCDOT issues a driveway permit that details expectations and they are expected to notify NCDOT and the Town prior to making improvements. In this case, we (the Town) did not get notified. NCDOT indicates they are having an inspector visit the site today to go over the schedule talk about traffic issues. We have advised NCDOT that the Town is a great resource to utilize to get the word out an we want to be a part of making these projects work in a smooth manner and hopefully in non-peak travel times.”
Sense of humor
The Cornelius Police Department said this: “As excited as our officers are about a new doughnut place in town, we are in the law enforcement business and not the road construction business. We are aware of backups along Catawba Avenue between Jetton Road and Westmoreland and have heard it will stop at 4:00pm today, then resume Tuesday, 8/25 from 9:00AM – 4:00PM. Allow extra travel time if you are driving in that area of Cornelius or plan an alternate route.”
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Sounds like they are affiliated NCDOT ………..LOL
Incredibly bad timing of the contractor, and if the NcDOT talked with the contractor LAST WEEK, how much time would it have taken to send an email to the town manager. I for one don’t believe NCDOT is committed to the safety and transportation issues of Cornelius. I wish that weren’t the case. There needs to be a better relationship with NCDOT and the needs of Cornelius. How do we get that. Who will take that on, Mr.Mayor don’t you think this should be a priority of yours???? I don’t want to hear that you blame the town manager. If this is payback for the anti-toll stance the mayor should smooth that over so citizens aren’t victimized by it. We need to hear from you!
Umm… that’s all very well, but you don’t suppose that the culprits are the NCDOT rather than the town government? What on earth has the mayor done that’s wrong – disagreed with NCDOT’s toll lane plans. Outrageous of him, isn’t it? Of course there are a few others in the town and surroundings who find the NCDOT toll lane project to be outrageous, but they’re just petty complainers, right? (No, just in case the sarcasm is missed, it’s NOT right.)
The mayor is pro-toll. His silence on traffic issues here is deafening.
The cows may come and the cows may go… but the bull goes on forever. The property owner is forced to pay for the widened road, curbs, sidewalk… only to have it all torn out soon when NCDOT goes about widening West Catawba to four plus lanes. More is being wasted further down by Westmoreland and by Ladd McCall, where new curbs are being installed.
You would think that after the unskilled flagmen backed traffic all the way to Sam Furr and then down to Birkdale, the Cornelius Police Department would direct traffic vs. ignore the entire situation. For hours the flagmen would clear 100% of the West bound traffic and then let 10-12 cars through coming East. Guess as long as they didn’t have traffic issues next to their post they could just ignore the major mess they had created. It was funny to see the crews own trucks stuck in the mess attempting to deliver asphalt to the job. Closing both lanes around noon for 20 minutes didn’t help the situation either.
I was stuck in that mess on Saturday morning, detoured onto Westmoreland and had to go all the way around it, but probably better than just sitting there in traffic…I like the comment above where the owners are paying for the new curbs and sidewalk that will eventually all be ripped up again when they widen the road! Guess that’s the price of doing business in this town!
We live in a town with one, and only one main thoroughfare. Yes, communication is key. But these contractors should not be allowed to simply “notify” the town of when it will complete the paving. The contractor should have to agree to completing the project at the times best suited for our unique community. They should be required to pave at night to ensure citizens have the means to function.In our town, you cannot buy groceries, visit the doctor, fuel up or reach an interstate without driving Catawba Avenue. This type of impact is simply unacceptable for our businesses and our citizens!
All I can say and ask is, “What the h*** did Cornelius do to be treated like such crap from NCDOT”? Oh wait, I know; fight against the TOLLS. I swear those NCDOT dirty b******* do things like this on purpose. Zero communication with Exit 28 craziness, now this. In other states, Towns, Cities, and States can fine the construction companies for delays and obstructions. I wonder how the taste of those donuts will sit in everyone’s belly when Dunkin Donuts opens?