Kernersville officials discuss transportation

They focus on issues related to future growth

Credit: Journal File Photo

Kernersville officials want to make sure the town isn't overlooked by its larger neighbors.

By: Paul Garber | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 17, 2009

KERNERSVILLE

When the economy rebounds, Kernersville Mayor Dawn Morgan wants the town to be ready to grow.

The town's board of aldermen held its first roads retreat yesterday to take a long-range look at transportation and related infrastructure issues related to growth.

"We want to assess where we are as far as being ‘shovel-ready,'" Morgan said.

Public-works Director Tim Shields said that while it takes only a few years to build a road, the planning process can take decades. That is why keeping abreast of planning is so important, he said.

Shields said that it is also easy for Kernersville to get overlooked in the planning process by its larger neighbors.

Kernersville is part of the Winston-Salem Metropolitan Planning Organization. It is also affected, however, by decisions of the High Point and Greensboro metropolitan planning organizations, Shields said.

He urged the board to keep pressure on the planning organizations "to keep Kernersville as an important regional player."

Most of the larger projects that Shields discussed have been on the books for years. They are mostly connected to large nearby projects. That includes a connector to the FedEx Corp.'s hub in Greensboro, and widening of Union Cross Road near the Dell plant in Southeastern Forsyth County.

There are also plans that will help ease congestion in neighborhoods as drivers make their way to larger thoroughfares, Shields said.

That includes plans for a Hopkins-Oakhurst connector that would make it easier for traffic coming from Hopkins Road to get to the core of downtown, Shields said.

Another plan would extend Masten Drive to connect downtown south to the Wal-Mart.

In November, FedEx Ground Packaging System Inc. announced a $100 million distribution hub in Triad Business Park, and earlier this month Limco-Piedmont said that it would consolidate its two manufacturing operations in Kernersville, bringing 120 jobs. Those projects highlight the need for transportation planning to make sure that the roads work effectively, Morgan said.

"We're trying to do our part to support economic development in the Triad," she said.

"This retreat highlighted how detailed you need to be in the planning process."

■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.