UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Stallings man’s year-and-a-half mission to renovate an intersection near his home could be nearing its end, as NCDOT and the town of Stallings announced the project will be let out for bids next year.
What You Need To Know
Potter Road and Pleasant Plains Road project to go out for bids in May 2023
NCDOT says the project could take up to a year to complete after the bid process finishes
NCDOT says thousands of travelers use both roads daily
Earlier this year, Spectrum News 1 introduced you to David Allison and his FixPotterRd.com website. Allison went viral in Union County during the COVID-19 pandemic for consistently standing near the intersection of Potter Road and Pleasant Plains Road holding a sign, which directed people to his website.
Allison and his website claim the condition of the intersection and the roadways leading to it are untenable and an eyesore.
“My goodness, can you imagine sitting in traffic and looking at all this every day? How could you have pride in your community?” Allison said, while looking at the intersection in mid-September.
Since he began his mission in 2021, Allison said some improvements have come to the intersection, as he and other supporters wait for NCDOT and the town of Stallings to begin construction.
Now, there is potentially good news on potential construction.
“It is supposed to be let for bids in the spring of 2023 to early summer of 2023,” Allison said, after receiving updates from NCDOT and the town.
In an interview a few days after Spectrum News 1 spoke with Allison, NCDOT further clarified, saying the project would be let for bids in May of 2023, and then would take up to a year to complete.
The project, which has been under consideration since 2013, could finally turn dirt next summer.
"I want to be positive about it. I don’t think just being negative and saying, ‘Ah, we’ve heard that before.’ I don’t think that’s going to accomplish anything. I think our mission is a mission of positivity,” Allison said about the new potential dates. “Let’s move forward, let’s get past all the excuses and everything that’s happened in the past.”
The town of Stallings has repeatedly posted updates on its town website about the project, detailing its many twists and turns since 2013. You can read the entire project history here.
Recently, the town said NCDOT had agreed to take on the project and was expected to begin shortly.
“Thank you for your email. At this time, NCDOT is coordinating with the town to fully takeover the project. The town has received confirmation from NCDOT that it has completed a new land survey (the previous one was outdated) and is working on completing the final design based on the updated information. NCDOT anticipates the let date of the project to be late spring/early summer 2023 as long as there are no issues with material shortages. The town will update our website to make sure this information is clear,” wrote Stallings town manager, Alexander Sewell, in an email to Spectrum News 1 in early September.
Allison said the apparent forward progress on the project was welcome news but was approaching the new dates with cautious optimism.
“It’s important to keep the focus on it, because it’s been dropped before. This project started in 2012, and it’s had all kinds of fits and starts, so it’s important to keep it in front of the public,” Allison said while driving to the intersection.
His critiques of the intersection have been consistent the past many months, claiming it’s not pretty, littered with muddy standing water and gravel-filled potholes and also presents a safety hazard.
“Gosh,” Allison said from the roadside next to the intersection, “I’d hate for anyone to have to cross this road here. And, up from the school in the afternoon, there are high school students that walk across here.”
The intersection does not currently have crosswalks.
NCDOT provided daily traffic numbers to Spectrum News 1, detailing the thousands of cars which use the two roads. According to data from 2016 and 2019, the last years available, an estimated 21,000 people use the two roads daily.
After 16 months of waiting for dirt to move, Allison said he only holds his sign at the road side about once a month and only posts updates to his website when there’s updated news about the project.
“I have the time, and I have something of a save the world complex that I’ve had to deal with throughout my life. And, I think one person can make a difference. I’m still that — call it naive, whatever you want to call it, but I think one person can make a difference, and I’ve actually sort of proven it,” said Allison, a retired utility inspector.
In the meantime, all he and the rest of Stallings can do now is wait.
Jennifer Thompson, an NCDOT spokesperson, said they are in regular contact with Allison and were working to move forward on the project.
“We’re reporting that we have some good news. That we can get it on the schedule for a letting for bids, for contract bids, we’re looking at next May, 2023. That’s when it would available for contractors to bid and get awarded the contract,” Thompson explained over video call.
NCDOT plans to add turn lanes and resurface the intersection as part of the project, according to Thompson.