For some business owners, road work a necessary evil

By: Jim Mcnally | Statesville Record & Landmark
Published: August 10, 2010

To Jay Patel it isn't so much a matter of the work being done on Garner Bagnal Boulevard as it is the signs explaining the road closure caused by it.
"This has been killing us in terms of business, right at our busiest time of year," said Patel, who owns the Super 8 Hotel on Greenland Drive in Statesville, not far from exit 49A off Interstate 77.
Patel is also president of the Statesville Hotel Owners Association. He says what has gone on in the past week, while perhaps necessary, could have been handled differently.
"The road (Greenland) is open but if you look at the signs there it looks like it closed," he said. "They haven't been helping in letting people know that we're open."
And there could be a good reason for that.
Steve Bridges, assistant district engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation explained that laws prohibit how much information can be contained on a detour sign.
"There's a fine line between warning people about road information and advertising for a business," he said. "And if you cross that line, you could get into a lot of trouble."
In any event, Bridges said, the work had to be done posthaste to avoid the worsening of a sinkhole that was caught in its early stages.
Bridges said the sinkhole was likely caused by a series of events: a ruptured pipe near the driveway of the Holiday Inn; heavy rains from two weeks ago; and the erosion of a larger, culvert-type pipe that ran under Garner Bagnal.
The sinkhole had not yet reached the paved portion of Garner Bagnal but was close to that point.
"Ultimately the pavement would have failed," Bridges said. "And, theoretically, a car could have gone right down into it."
Steven Vail is the general manager of the Holiday Inn on Garner Bagnal, and he said he's glad to see the road crew out in front of his business.
"I'm sure the construction has cost us some business," he said. "But I certainly understand the necessity of correcting the situation."
While Vail may sympathize with Patel and others on Greenland, he said he doesn't know how the NCDOT could have done things any differently.
"There is only so much information you can put on a road sign," he said. I mean, you can't have three paragraphs on a sign. You have to have information people can read quickly while they're driving or you could cause an accident by everyone slowing down to read it."
Bridges said the work, which cost about $200,000, is still on schedule to be competed by next Monday.
In the meantime, a lot of folks have been relying on Max Maxwell and his employees at Maxwell BP gas station to set them straight.
"We've had a lot of people come in here asking about the detour," Maxwell said. "We tell them, 'Go up two lights and take a right.' "

For some business owners, road work a necessary evil

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