South Main Street Closure Drags On
The view toward Cornelius on South Main Street in Davidson
The closure of South Main Street on the Cornelius-Davidson town line is stretching into its sixth month, two to three months longer than initially anticipated when the road was closed in mid-March.
A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Transportation said the project team met recently and the contractor advised that the earliest opening would be in late fall. The spokesperson said the parties are working to accelerate the timeline.
The busy section was closed as part of the Potts Street roundabout project. The roundabout has been open since this summer but work is not completed.
The construction has negatively impacted retail stores and restaurants in the area, according to multiple business owners. The Town of Davidson recently began promoting a series of events to help the struggling businesses, including special food and drink nights, live music and more.
Earlier this month, NCDOT installed temporary three-way stop signs for safety reasons at the intersections of Potts Street and Catawba Avenue and South Main Street and Catawba Avenue. The route has served as a detour since construction began.
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Typical – this is sad and unacceptable. There is no weather related reasons to blame and they are over double what was projected with no discernible progress and zero weekend work. How about if the DOT had to supplement the businesses that were effected for the missing revenue past their initial estimate? Don’t low ball bids and timelines – then drag it on (light rail + toll lanes). Be realistic – oh sorry, then we wouldn’t support. Let’s not be honest about costs/timelines instead. As memory serves – the Exit 31 interchange was done is 7 days (OK – maybe 7 weeks) as it was needed to lure Lowes and keep them in NC. No political advocates/insiders here to yell at DOT. No skin in the game makes for poor accountability and decision making. Detached experts avoid the consequences of their inadequate planning/failures and add unnecessary complexity.