Blythe Construction Inc. recently shot aerial photos of the roundabout it built at Concord, East Rocky River and Davidson-Concord Roads. The $600,000 project was paid for with federal stimulus funds through the N.C. Department of Transportation, and was completed in mid-September, ahead of schedule. Thanks to project manager Thomas A. Passek for sharing the photos. See a gallery below. See all our coverage of the construction and roundabouts at tag “roundabout.” Read the full story

The roundabout at Davidson-Concord and East Rocky River roads is open. (Brenda Barger photo)

The new roundabout at Davidson-Concord and East Rocky River roads opened Sunday evening. The N.C. Department of Transportation says some work remains, but traffic is now able to use the new circle.

The busy intersection was completely closed over the weekend. Police were out enforcing the closing after some drivers ignored the closing and tried to go around the construction site. (See “Davidson-Concord Road is closed. Really.”) Read the full story

A police officer talks to a driver headed toward the closed intersection of Davidson-Concord and East Rocky River roads. (Brenda Barger photo)

Davidson police are now closely enforcing the “road closed” sign at Kimberly and Concord roads. The town’s main east-west route is closed at East Rocky River Road so a construction crew can work on the new roundabout at the busy intersection. The police enforcement comes as some drivers have been spotted ignoring the sign and using the shoulder and a bicycle path to illegally skirt the road closing. Read the full story

Get ready for a big detour this weekend if you’re heading into or out of town from the east.

Davidson-Concord Road will be closed at East Rocky River Road Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12-13, as construction continues on the new roundabout at the busy intersection, the state Department of Transportation said Thursday. The DOT  said the road should reopen in time for rush hour Monday.

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A new kind of animal is spotted on the Serengeti: the red-shirted Davidsonian!

Ah!  How quickly reality sets back in when you have been away for three weeks.  Suddenly you are back in Davidson sorting mail, phone and email messages, mowing grass and shopping the grocery stores once more.  The Barger family, joined by Judy Johnson of Hudson Place, and her sons, Drake and Spencer, followed in the footsteps of many in Davidson and spent over two weeks in Africa.

First, many kudos and many thanks to good friend and superb journalist Laurie Dennis who kept Around Davidson in great shape during my absence.  It makes getting out of town easy.  Second, today’s column will give you a short synopsis of our travels and include a few of our favorite photos.  Bear in mind if you want to know more, just ask us.  We have many tales to tell and a few thousand pictures to back them up! Read the full story

Workers gathered at the roundabout site Monday. (David Boraks multiphoto panorama)

Updated Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, 2:58 p.m.

This morning (Monday) marked the start of construction on a roundabout to replace the treacherous three-way intersection at Davidson-Concord and East Rocky River roads. Beginning late today or early Tuesday, East Rocky River road will be closed from Davidson-Concord Road to Shearers Road.

On Monday morning, Betty Brown still wasn’t sure how she’d cope with the road closing. She lives on East Rocky River and is used to driving west into downtown Davidson. For the next several months, she’ll have to make a big detour. Read the full story

Exit 31 now open; ‘summit’ to offer update on commuter rail

East Rocky River Road will be closed for several months at Davidson-Concord Road when construction of a new roundabout begins Aug. 10 at the busy intersection. State and town officials are suggesting a detour: Grey Road to Shearers Road.

Also in this column, Exit 31 now open, and news about a regional transit summit next week in Huntersville. Read the full story

Map of planned road resurfacing projects. Click for a larger version.

The town will begin a series of resurfacing projects in the coming weeks targeting town-maintained streets deemed most in need of repair. The work is part of a multi-year plan to bring all town streets up to standard and keep them there through annual maintenance. Town officials say it’s also part of an effort to address one of the major concerns residents expressed on a townwide survey in 2007. (See a list of streets to be resurfaced at the end of this article.)
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