Stanly has several key projects included as part of NCDOT’s latest 10-year draft plan

Published 10:55 am Thursday, June 23, 2022

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Several key Stanly County transportation projects are scheduled to be completed within the next couple of years as part of NCDOT’s updated State Transportation Improvement Plan.

The STIP is typically updated every two years, but the draft 2024-2033 plan was developed under “unique circumstances,” according to a NCDOT press release. Due to rising material and labor costs, “it was decided the new STIP should be built from existing projects in the current (2020-29) STIP to the extent that funding allows, while giving planning organizations the opportunity to propose project swaps that meet the needs of their communities.”

The Stanly-specific projects include:

• Acquiring land for expansion of the Stanly County Airport and to perform an environmental site assessment. Right of way is scheduled for 2025 with construction set to begin in 2027. The total cost is $4.6 million.

• Constructing a sidewalk on the east side of the road from West Main Street to Snuggs Street along U.S. Highway 52 Business Ramp in Albemarle. Right of way is scheduled for 2025 with construction set to begin in 2026. The total cost is $550,000.

• Constructing sidewalks, handicap-accessible ramps and crosswalks from Park Ridge Road to Salisbury Avenue along North Second Avenue in Albemarle. Right of way is scheduled for 2026 with construction set to begin in 2027. The total cost is $590,000.

• Constructing bike lanes from U.S. Highway 52 to North Second Street along Salisbury Avenue in Albemarle. Construction should begin in fiscal year 2025 and cost $132,000.

• Constructing sidewalks and handicap-accessible ramps on the west side of the road from North Love Chapel to Carmel Road along N.C. Highway 200 in Stanfield. Right of way is scheduled for this year with construction set to begin next year. The total cost is $650,000.

• Constructing a sidewalk from N.C. Highway 24-27 to Second Street along U.S. Highway 52 Business ramp. The projected has not been funded yet, but would cost $260,000.

• Replacing the bridge over Big Bear Creek along Rogers Road near Millingport. Right of way is scheduled for 2025 and construction should start in 2026. The total cost is $615,000.

• Replacing the bridge over Long Creek along Bethlehem Church Road in Aquadale. Right of way is scheduled for this year and construction should start in 2023. The total cost is $1.9 million.

• Improving various intersections in Oakboro including at Lighthouse Road and Buster Road and at Swift Road and Big Lick Road. Construction for each of them is scheduled for this year.

There are many other highway, rail and bike projects NCDOT will be working on across locations within Stanly and the other counties within Division 10: Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Union.

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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