Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2015
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With trail design process underway, issues of construction cost, eminent domain come to forefront by PATTI STOKES
File photo
A sign posted at the pedestrian tunnel under U.S. 220 marks the end of the A&Y Greenway, and indicates plans to extend it through Summerfield.
SUMMERFIELD – Becoming a walkable and bikeable community was a top priority for the vast majority of about 500 citizens who weighed in during the development process of the Summerfield Comprehensive Plan. Though the plan was adopted in 2010, making the community more pedestrian-friendly has met more than its share of challenges. In July 2013 the town appointed a Trails and Open Space Committee, charged with developing a trail route that would extend the A&Y Greenway from downtown Greensboro into Summerfield. The Greenway, which
trail supporters hope will eventually be incorporated into North Carolina’s 1,000-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail, follows the abandoned Atlantic and Yadkin rail corridor; it currently ends at a pedestrian tunnel under U.S. 220, just north of Strawberry Road in Summerfield. After considering various alternatives, the TOS Committee presented a proposed trail route to the town council in February 2014. The proposal garnered protests, however, after some citizens learned it would come through, or near their private property. Four months later, when a citizen publicly pressed town council
Tetra Tech gets six-month extension for U.S. 220 by GERRI HUNT GUILFORD COUNTY – Just six weeks ago, North Carolina Department of Transportation district engineer Bobby Norris told the Summerfield Town Council the U.S. 220 widening project was still on target for its completion date, although he acknowledged delays involving change orders, the contractor and the design.
“We are working with [the contractors] to get a plan, and set small milestones so they can hit them... we’re trying to keep them on schedule that way, and that seems to be working out,” Norris told the council. But now the completion date has been extended nearly six months, from Dec. 27, 2016 to June 19, 2017. The $96.2 million project should be 85.6 percent complete
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Photo by Gerri Hunt/NWO
The widening of U.S. 220 from Horsepen Creek Road to Winfree Road in Summerfield – including this area at Elmhurst Estates – will likely be delayed six months. The new projected completion date is June 2017.
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IN THIS ISSUE News in brief.........................3 Your Questions .....................4 Stokesdale Town Council ...6 High School Sports ..............9 School news ....................... 10 Student Profiles .................. 11 Crime/Incident Report ...... 14 Community Calendar ....... 15 Grins & Gripes .................... 16 Classifieds .......................... 19 Index of Advertisers ..........23 NWO on the go! .................24