N&O article regarding Harrington Grove roads

An article ran today in the N&O regarding the status of roads in Harrington Grove. Click here to read it.

Additionally, here’s a recap of our recent meeting:

On January 12, 2006, the HOA met with City and State representatives to discuss the roads situation in Harrington Grove. In attendance were Mayor Charles Meeker, Carl Dawson (Raleigh Public Works Director) and Jon Nance (Division Engineer, NCDOT), along with the HOA Board and a handful of homeowners.

Budget Cuts
The HOA began with a presentation that outlined various concerns, and included a short video that highlighted some of the key problems with roads in Harrington Grove. The floor was then turned over to Jon Nance. Jon indicated that there had been budget changes since our last meeting in December 2005. With these budget cuts, probably the worst in the past 20 years, NCDOT is currently unable to work on any subdivision roads in Wake County. With just a $5M budget for resurfacing work, the NCDOT is focused strictly on non-subdivision streets in 2006.

It was also noted that the City is on an 18-year cycle for resurfacing, while the NCDOT is on a 22-year cycle. This means that a road may go 18-22 years before it's worked on by the City or State!

Work Plan
NCDOT's short-term (2006) plan for Harrington Grove includes more patching and fixing certain problem areas, including leveling trenches from utility settlements, working on the curb and gutter system along New Leesville Boulevard, and painting the turn arrows at the front entrance. Engineers will come in first and do some pre-marking so that the work crews can be more productive and effective.

Longer-term, NCDOT hopes to work on 1-3 roads in 2007 (probably between New Leesville Boulevard, Harrington Grove Road, Radner), and believes they should still be able to get to most of our streets by 2009. As work is systematically completed in certain areas, the City will then pick up the continuous maintenance moving forward.

Prioritization of Repairs
When asked why certain Harrington Grove areas were done ahead of others in 2005, it was explained that "alligator cracking" has a structural impact since water can seep down into the materials. Therefore, a road may have had a smooth ride but was patched because of alligator cracking. Dips, on the other hand — although more noticeable to homeowners because they impact ride — are less severe because don't have a structural impact.

Street Lights
A homeowner asked about the status of street lights along New Leesville Boulevard. It was confirmed that this was approved, and will appear in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning in July 2006. The current plan calls for the use of trenchless technology, making this a $350K project. However, Mr. Nance said he would look again at the possibility of putting lights in the median, which would drastically cut the cost.

Next Steps
Jim Brawley of our HOA will serve as the contact point for the City and the State regarding these issues. Jim has already outlined several actions and has asked for a detailed plan that we can share with homeowners at our March 2006 HOA meeting. Mayor Meeker even discussed the possibility of the City contributing some money so that the NCDOT work could be done on a faster schedule. We will continue to keep residents apprised as new information becomes available.