Clinton Mayor Lew Starling said “enough is enough” with N.C. 24 construction, opening up Wednesday’s regular Council meeting with sharp words for all parties involved in the project, calling for transparency on contracts, timelines and who is exactly doing what.
He directed city administration to reach out to the State Board of Transportation and Sampson’s legislative delegation and “ask them to look into and investigate what is going on on Highway 24.”
Additionally, Starling requested the city’s attorney Tim Howard write a letter to the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) “pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act” to get copies of contracts, information on liquidated damages, “when was it supposed to be done, why isn’t it being done and pursue that as quickly as we possibly can.”
He then asked City manager Tom Hart to send certified letters, including to contractor Fred Smith — Fred Smith Company Construction is handling the last two funded segments, 16 miles extending from Dowdy Road to Faircloth Freeway, all in Sampson — asking those involved in the construction to come to the next Council meeting in December and give a status of the project.
“Ask these fine people to come to the next meeting and explain to the citizens of this city and the citizens of this county and state why we’re in such a mess on 24,” Starling stated. “In my opinion, it is inexcusable. I would ask you to send this to all our legislative delegation — send a registered letter to all of them — and see if we can get a contract, a list of the (subcontractors). Who are the subs? Let the sun shine in.”
The N.C. 24 project, a topic of discussion among disgruntled motorists for years now, has come under fire by local government officials in recent months as more time passes with, officials say, seemingly little progress being made.
In August, NCDOT informed the Sampson County Board of Commissioners that the N.C. 24 project extending through Clinton should be “substantially complete” by December, with anticipated completion in January 2019. That was walked back after Hurricane Florence hit, with district engineer Keith Eason saying last week that “little or no work was performed for 6-8 weeks following the hurricane.”
Starling’s words Wednesday came on the heels of Eason’s most recent update that final work could happen “as late as spring 2019.”
Work on the entire N.C. 24 project began back in Cumberland County in October 2013 and was, for a time, slated for a November 2017 completion. That was then revised to March 2018 and, last year, DOT officials said the timeline for the project was delayed to early 2019. Eason said utility relocation issues early on were to blame for a majority of the delay, saying the contractor was forgiven for nearly a year of the 422 days the project fell behind.
The 40-mile N.C. 24 Improvement Project running through the center of Sampson County will serve as a major connector between Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune. The project is broken down into four segments stretching from Cumberland to U.S. 421/701 Bypass (Faircloth Freeway) in Clinton. A fifth segment extending from Faircloth Freeway past Moltonville Road is planned for the future.
The completed A and B segments have already brought a significant facelift to Cumberland and western Sampson. The same is now being seen in central Sampson, however heavy machinery and orange barrels have meant a changing traffic pattern and snarled traffic in the heart of Clinton.
The median work is currently the goal, as some of the concrete islands splitting the middle of the traffic lanes have been constructed in recent weeks, and will continue, with median curb and gutter to follow, NCDOT officials said. Minor grading and seeding will take before final asphalt and traffic signals go up.
While the project has seen its share of roadblocks, primarily due to the utility relocation, Mother Nature has only compounded matters, Eason noted last week.
“Enough is enough,” Starling said Wednesday. “I would ask you to write everyone you can think of, send them certified, that we want some action as to what is going on on 24. Ask them to come to this meeting, and if they don’t want to come, that is on them, but we want to publish the names of who we write to, how they respond and how they don’t respond.
“If their contracts are public record,” the mayor continued, “we’ll make copies and let everyone see what they’re being paid and what they haven’t been paid.”
