For 15 years there has been a planning effort among state and local officials to create what is being called the Red Line project; a 25-mile commuter train that will run east of I-77  and link Charlotte to Harris, Eastfield, Hambright, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and end at Mount Mourne in south Mooresville.

To me the benefits are obvious: cutting traffic on I-77 and helping commuters who work in Charlotte but wish to live in the Lake Norman area.  Opponents of the plan unfortunately include a large chunk of Iredell County elected Officials and several Cornelius town board members who balk at the taxes, proposed development along the line and feel it will benefit just a few.

This past Wednesday, November 30th, consultants outlined a 5-year plan to build the Red Line Regional Rail which included a formal partnership among local governments, the state and Charlotte Area Transportation System.  According to an article by Christina Rogers in Cornelius.net, “Under the proposed plan, the partners would cooperate by setting up a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) which would govern construction and operations costs: 25% from CATS, 25% from the state of North Carolina, and 50% from local governments….The plan…fleshes out how the towns would meet their obligation, and it won’t mean increased taxes for individual homeowners….Instead, under th proposed plan, towns would pay for the rail through revenues expected to result from the increased value of property along the rail line.”

There is a ton of detailed information about the Red Line on the Cornelius News.Net Blog.  They have some great links including this one of the map:

http://corneliusnews.net/Documents/2011/113011%20Red%20Line%20Business%20Plan/RLRR%20Corridor%20Map.pdf

Want to get involved or learn more?

There will be a 4-hour public meeting on December 13th from 10:00am – 2:00pm at the Charles Mack Citizens Center in Historic Downtown Mooresville.  You can also learn more at the Lake Norman Transportation Commission’s website.

Please share with my readers your thoughts, experience or any feedback from these meetings!

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One of my favorite things about living in Lake Norman is the incredible variety and numbers of colorful birds, butterflies and furry critters.  Creating a “Certified Wildlife Habitat” garden is easy and very rewarding!  Every time I look out our windows I feel like I am in a Disney world alive with Golden Finches (above), Cardinals, Blue Birds, Hummingbirds, Chickadees…the list goes on and on.  Of course, we also attract deer, chipmunks, bunnies and squirrels with their own feeders although one day the squirrel above decided it would be fun to join the birds!

This Saturday, October 1st, you can learn all about how to qualify your own garden (it is SO easy), learn about Native Plants from local experts, learn how to attract wildlife and prepare your garden at the Wild Over Lake Norman! Backyard Wildlife Fair  which is being held from 11am-3pm at Duke Power’s Energy Explorium on Hwy 73 at the south end of Lake Norman.  (At the McGuire Nuclear Station).  There will be plenty of children’s activities plus exhibits on native plants, birds and butterflies.

I will be at the Wild Over Lake Norman! Certified Habitat Garden booth from 1pm-3pm so drop by and say hi!  Here is More:

“Today (Thursday, August 25, 2011), I saw the world’s most beautiful DOT sign”.

I friend of mine (thanks Beth!) forwarded this photo and the caption to me last week.  It is hard to explain how much the quality of life has improved for all of us living down Brawley School Rd (in Lake Norman) since all lanes were opened just in time for the first day of school last Thursday!

It now takes me, on average, 4 minutes to get to the intersection for Brawley School Road and Williamson Road from Isle of Pines.  ( I used to allow 20-30 minutes for this trip depending on the time of day). I have yet to witness any bottleneck at this notorius intersection.  When making a left turn on Williamson Rd on to Brawley School Rd, simply chose one of the TWO left turn lanes and breeze through.

The funny thing is that now that traffic is zooming by (I think folks are so giddy they are exceeding the 45 mph speed limit) merging on to Brawley School from the Harris Teeter Parking lot or the BP Car Wash now requires waiting for a wide enough space to allow us to merge and get up to speed quickly!

As far as I am concerned the 3-year nightmare was more than worth it.  Living down Brawley School Road is now, in my opinion, one of the absolute best places to live in all of Lake Norman!

You can order T-Shirts and license plates like this one online from: Artisan Signs and Graphics.  But, if any of you come up with a better design, let me know and we can use Cafe Press or Zazzle to custom order items.

Now, I ‘m off to preview a waterfront home on Lake Norman just off Hwy 150…I’ll bet it will only take me about 15 minutes to get there, woo hoo!

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Anyone who has been driving around Brawley School Rd. in the past week or so has most certainly noticed all of the paving that has been going on during the day resulting in even worse and excruciatingly frustrating traffic delays.  After sitting for almost an hour trying to get out the other day I once again leaned on my friend Mooresville Town Commissioner Miles Atkins for some help trying to figure out what in the heck is going on!

Well, I just got off of the telephone with John Cook, the Resident Engineer of the North Carolina Department of Transportation who has been responsible for oversight of our most challenging Brawley School Rd widening project.  It turns out that after having discovered that night-time paving wasn’t progressing as quickly as possible Rea Construction decided to do DAYTIME paving 6 days a week until the project is completed.  Too bad no one told us, don’t you think?

Anyway, the latest goal for completion of the paving is the first week of August.  After the paving is complete they will do the final painting/striping and installation of reflectors.  “The goal“, according to John Cook, “is to have the traffic in the final pattern before school starts the last week of August“.

Of course, we have been told many completion dates over the years but I am really hoping this one will stick.  Until then, remember when planning any travel around Brawley School Rd that there will be work going every day on Monday – Saturday during the day and to expect delays all day long.  Then if you luck out and breeze right down the road you will be totally surprised!

Want to speak with Mr. Cook?  He has said to call him directly any time:

John R. Cook

Resident Engineer

Statesville Resident’s Office, Division 12

Ph: (704) 876-3543

Fax: (704) 876-6065

Now, who is going to host the celebration when it is actually completed?  I think we deserve a party!

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Breaking news about Lake Norman’s infamous Brawley School Rd Widening Project just came to me from Mooreville Town Commissioner Miles Atkins.  It is clear that our frustrations are being heard and that then end is in sight!  Here it is in its entirety:

Mooresville Town Manager’s update to commissioners 6/13/11

Brawley School Road:

After last Friday’s fiasco, I asked Carl and Neil to talk to NCDOT concerning the project. Below is Neil’s recap of the conversation. I’ll put the paving schedule in your Friday packets.
Chief Robbins and I met with John Cook, the resident engineer for the Brawley School Road widening project this morning. I have attached a paving schedule with some notes for clarification. Rea will be paving 6 nights a week weather permitting, with night work beginning at 9 pm and ending at 6 am. Median work, mowing, clean up and other punchlist items will continue during the day. Once median work and night paving have been completed, two lanes in each direction will be open between Williamson Road and South Fork Road, with the expected completion date for paving of June 30. Inclement weather will prolong the night paving schedule beyond June 30 potentially.

NCDOT does not have a provision in the construction contract for plantings or median landscaping.  The signals have been tweaked multiple times and are operating correctly. The main issue that NCDOT has found on the side road approaches is not stopping directly on top of the loop detectors, which calls the signal and begins the green phase on the minor approaches. We suggested “Stop Here on Red” signage for some of these intersections.

It is anticipated that all traffic will be switched over to the new lanes on Section B (between Williamson Road and Talbert Road) on Tuesday, July 5 after 9 pm. This will include the new overpass over I-77, and the old bridge will subsequently be demolished and a the remaining northern half of the overpass will be completed at this time.

Mr. Cook provided a point of contact for Rea Construction, Mr. Drew Baucom and his number is 704-201-1248.

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