CLAYTON, N.C. — North Carolina has seen a lot of growth and change as more people move to the state. That population growth is seen in small towns as well as big cities.

“It's kind of bittersweet seeing it change,” Erin Nenni said. “But there's so much new life that's here in Clayton now.”

Nenni grew up in the small town of Clayton, and she loves the people and the place she lives in.

“The growth has actually been slow coming,” Nenni said. “I've been seeing it since I have been here all my life, pretty much. I've been seeing it since I was a teenager, and that's 20 years ago or more. So it's definitely been a slow process, but now all of a sudden it's really started to boom, grow a lot faster.”

Clayton has almost doubled its population in the past 15 years. Nenni has watched the growth both as a resident and as a small business owner.

Erin Nenni at her business, Three Little Birds. (Spectrum News 1/Jenna Rae Gaertner)

“We've definitely seen more traffic,” Nenni said. “Our business has grown exponentially, even as just a small business down here.”

She’s happy with the changes the growth has brought, but says she hopes the local leaders can keep the small-town vibe and build good infrastructure that can handle the growth.

That’s what town leaders are working on now. Planning director Benjamin Howell is working on the Gateway 42 Project. When Highway 70 upgrades to Interstate 42, Clayton is getting a new front door with easy access to surrounding areas.

“With this transformative development, we felt we needed to really do a plan to look at the area as a whole, and look at the future development potential, and try and come up with a vision for how this area should develop in the future,” Howell said.

Howell hopes to build communities and businesses around these new intersections that will benefit residents and visitors. He says community input is vital.

You can find out when their next workshop is online.

Gateway 42 Project map (Town of Clayton)