To the editor:
As a follow-up to my submission a few weeks ago concerning the condition of the recent roadwork on Hogback Mountain Road, I got this letter in response:
Mr. Driscoll, Sr.
My name is Thomas Hall, I am the county supervisor in Polk County. I have looked at the road with Ben Williams my CME and the road oil supervisor has also looked at the road and determined that the liquid tack was bad. Fork Creek Road is also coming up.
We have talked to the company about this and they will reimburse us and we will repave them this year. We have used a sweeper and swept the whole road last week to get the loose gravel off. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. If you have any more questions just let me know.
Thank You,
Thomas Hall
Polk County County
Maintenance Supervisor
My response was as follows:
Mr. Hall, Thank you for your response. I hope that you appreciate my concern.
I’m glad to know that someone in the roads maintenance department cares enough to run those issues to ground.
I am a construction project manager in the heavy/highway/earthmoving/bridge building business and currently in charge of an $8 billion project in Panama; I understand the business, as I have been doing this for 20 years this year.
So, I know when subcontractors need a kick in the pants, and when a particular sub needs additional supervision. Seems to me this sub doing the work on Hogback Mountain Road and Carolina Drive in Tryon needs to be sat on top of and QA/QC to be holding them accountable.
Current report here on the mountain is, there is still gravel on the road surface and shoulders from the Carolina Drive / Hogback Mtn Road intersection (tight hairpin curve of Hogback and ending of Carolina) and on up to the top of Hogback Mountain Road, beyond Melrose Mountain.
Please give that surfacing crew a kick in the pants and keep me updated on their progress.
Many thanks, and Happy New Year.
Regards,
Mike Driscoll, Tryon