Efforts Ease Traffic Nightmare
Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh thanks Joseph Boretski, Statesville
marketing president for Wachovia bank, for the financial center’s
assistance in alleviating traffic problems in the Fourth Creek
shopping area.
A call for a solution to the dangerous
traffic conditions at the US 21 exit
ramp on 1-40 west resulted in a
collaborative effort among several
groups to solve the problem.
In recent years, as more restaurants
and businesses have built along
Volunteers
Needed
The Girl Scout Council of the
Hwy 21 in the WalMart shopping
area, vehicles began to back up
past the deceleration lane of 1-40
and encroach on the 1-40 entrance
ramp off 1-77. Even though the
N.C. Department of Transportation
constructed an extended storage
lane in the right-of-way of 1-40 to
accommodate more traffic, drivers
still misjudged backed-up-traffic
and were involved in severe rear
end collisions.
Neil Furr/CITIZEN
A new right turn lane allowing better access to shopping centers
in the Fourth Creek area was a collaboration among the City of
Statesville, Wachovia bank, Duke Power and the North Carolina
Department of Transportation.
“It caused a horrible traffic
accident in late 2005,” said Rob
Hites, Statesville city manager.
After, that Statesville Mayor Costi
Kutteh, DOT Commissioner Robert
Collier, DOT Division 12 Chief
Engineer Mike Holder and Hites
met with NC Representative Karen
Ray to discuss possible short-term
solutions.
The group decided to construct a
turn lane at the intersection of US
21 and Glenway Drive to keep as
much traffic as possible moving
along the right lane. Mayor Kutteh
worked with Wachovia Bank to
get an easement donated; the City
of Statesville agreed to pay Duke
Power to move a utility pole and
guy-wire, and NCDOT constructed
the lane, built a new curb and
laid two layers of asphalt. Just in
time for major holiday traffic, the
problem was eased and major traffic
backups on 1-40 disappeared.
“The long-term solution is the
reconstruction of the intersection,
now scheduled for 2010, but this
area is much safer as a result of the
turn lane,” said Hites.
NAACP
Covention Set
More than 1,800 NAACP members
and visitors from across the Deep
South are expected to attend the ?
55th Annual Southeast Region
Civil Rights Advocacy Training
Institute (CRATI) March 8-11 at
the Chattanooga Convention and
Trade Center in Tennessee. This
year’s convention marks the 98th
Anniversary of the NAACP. The
theme of this year’s convention is
“Operation Excellence: Moving
from Good to Great.”
Convention highlights include
Religious Emphasis Day at Olivet
Baptist Church in Chattanooga; a
health symposium on HIV/AIDS;
the Ruby Hurley Membership Luncheon
keynote address by Dr. Benjamin L.
Hooks, NAACP executive director
emeritus; the unveiling of a Great
Blacks in Wax Museum exhibit
featuring Earl T. Sinister and Ida
B. Wells-Bamett among others;
and premier of the Lionsgate Film
Pride, based on the story of Jim
Ellis, a charismatic school teacher in
the 1970s who changed lives when
he founded an African-American
swim team in one of Philadelphia’s
roughest neighborhoods.
Other speakers scheduled at this
year’s CRATI include NAACP President
& CEO Bruce S. Gordon; NAACP
COO Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III;
NAACP National Youth and College
Division Director Stefanie L.
Brown; veteran labor leader Gerald
Hudson; noted theologian Rev. Dr.
Jeremiah Wright; and critically
acclaimed actress Sheryl Lee Ralph.
For information contact Yvonne
Finnie at 1-404-688-8868.
Catawba Valley Area, a United Way
agency, is requesting volunteers to
help prepare Camp Ginger Cascades
for upcoming spring and summer
events. Fix It, Paint It, Clean It
Camp Work Day is scheduled
for Saturday, March 24, from 9
a.m. until 5 p.m. at Camp Ginger
Cascades in Caldwell County.
Civic groups, individuals, families,
and teenagers are needed to do
simple construction projects, paint
buildings, maintain trails and clean
and set up platform tents. Lunch
will be provided on Saturday noon.
“Every year we rely on Girl Scouts,
their families, and community
volunteers to prepare the camp for
spring events and summer camp,”
says Skip Mosher, camp ranger.
Anyone interested in helping the
Girl Scouts at Camp Work Day are
encouraged to call Eva Webb at the
Girl Scout Council Service Center
at 828-328-2444 or 800-328-8388
or email camp@cvgirlscouts.org.
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