Motorists who travel along Ridge Road may see some delays in the next few weeks as county crews prepare for a paving project this fall.
Bill Bridges, county engineer, said a pipe replacement project in four locations along the road will require temporary closings while work is being done.
“We will be replacing some pipes on Ridge Road and wanted to let people know to avoid that area while the work is being done,” Bridges said. “It would be better for folks to stay on U.S. 29 instead of coming down Ridge Road to get to town.”
Work will begin in the first of the four locations this week with traffic being detoured around the worksite, Bridges said.
“We will start work on Thursday replacing pipe near the intersection of Weaver Road,” Bridges said. “We expect the road to close around 7:30 a.m. and be closed all day while the work is done. We hope to finish it up by late Thursday, if everything goes well.”
Motorists who come to the closed portion of the roadway can re-route their trip down Weaver Road to Pineview and back out to Ridge Road or vice-versa depending of the direction of travel, Bridges said.
Other areas to be closed sometime next week include three spots in the area between Shady Grove Lane and U.S. 29, Bridges said.
In a related item, commissioners also agreed to erect signs along Georgia Lane and Allen Road to indicate no large trucks are allowed in the area.
“We have recently resurfaced Georgia Lane and we certainly don’t want it to get torn up by trucks,” Stokes said. “We are all glad to see that road paved.”
County Engineer Bill Bridges said the road was never meant to be a thoroughfare for trucks.
“The road is meant for local car traffic,” Bridges aid. “There is no need for big trucks to be on that road in or in that area.”
An area in the west end of the county will soon be seeing some changes in speed limits, thanks to the concern of the public and work by Commissioner Brandon Smith.
“Between North Canoe and Cowpen Creek Road, there has been some concern from residents in the area,” Smith said. “There have been some problems with traffic and even some problems with speeding. They have asked that we impose a speed limit there so they can have a leg to stand on. Bill (Bridges) came and looked at the area and said 20 miles per hour would be a good speed limit there.”
Commissioners agreed to the posting of a new speed limit — 20 mph — along Hume and Randolph Avenues in the Canoe area.
In other commission action:
• Approved the transfer of an off-premises beer and wine license at Baker’s Service Station in Canoe;
• Approved DHR Board appointments of Andrew Walton, Carol Fountain and Maggie Sibernagle. Commissioner Larry White offered a thanks to Sherry Bell for her service on the board. “She worked on the DHR Board for several years,” White said. “We appreciate her serving in the position so well.” Sibernagle was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Bell’s resignation;
• Approved the policy for credit card purchased through the office of the county administrator;
• Ratified the Oil and Gas Trust Fund reinvestment. The county will earn .6 percent on the $1.5 million certificate of deposit for the coming year;
• Awarded annual bids in a variety of needs in the county.