Residents pay for grading work
Things are looking up in the Silver Creek Community, thanks to actions taken by residents of the subdivision or neighborhood and reactions from the county and state.
Silver Creek residents heard during a N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT) meeting Thursday, Sept. 15 that the paving of Bishop Lane, the community’s main road, is scheduled to begin this week.
The community also recently paid to have some roads graded and ditches cleared. Residents also had shelters built for new bus stops within the subdivision. A South Carolina Baptist Men’s group donated money, labor and materials for the shelters, which will be used by children waiting for school buses.
Don Yarbrough, Silver Creek Community second vice-president, said the new bus stops will be placed at the corners of Bishop Lane and Twin Drive and at Chimney Rock Road and Hitching Post. The stops are scheduled to begin being used by children in two to three weeks, once some turns are widened to allow school buses to enter, Silver Creek Community residents said.
The DOT meeting last week was held to discuss secondary road maintenance within the county. Silver Creek paving work is not being funded through that state program, but commissioners and residents asked questions and discussed the project.
DOT District Engineer Steve Cannon said clearing was done a couple of weeks ago in the Silver Creek Community and a construction crew should begin work this week. Cannon said the paving work on Bishop Lane should take about two months to complete.
During the Polk County Board of Commissioners Sept. 6 meeting, the county approved a resolution to add Silver Creek Community’s Winter Drive, Deerfield Drive and Lighthouse Drive to the state’s secondary road maintenance system. Cannon said the state has received those petitions and is moving forward with investigating the roads. Cannon told commissioners the process of adding roads to the state’s system normally takes six months to a year, depending on any right-of-way issues.
Winter Drive includes seven homes and is 0.08 miles in length, Deerfield Drive includes six homes and is 0.09 miles long and Lighthouse Drive includes six homes and is 0.09 miles long.
Yarbrough spoke at the DOT meeting and thanked the state and the county for their help in improving the Silver Creek community.
“It’s gratifying to see the DOT working and cutting down trees,” Yarbrough said. “We’re still a long way from achieving what we want to achieve. We do appreciate it and just want to thank you.”
Formerly known as Land of Lakes, Silver Creek Community is located off Silver Creek Road in the Mill Spring area. The subdivision consists of 369 parcels and was first established in 1972.
The homeowner’s association disbanded in 2001 and the roads, which had already begun deteriorating, continued to grow worse.
Residents began a few years ago asking for the state’s help in maintaining the roads, which were so dilapidated and dangerous that school buses could not enter to pick up children.
Residents banded together in 2007 to improve the neighborhood and in 2009 changed the name of the subdivision to the Silver Creek Community because of the bad reputation associated with the name Land of Lakes.
Homeowners began to petition the state three years ago to take over maintenance and have since placed welcome signs in the community, built flower boxes, started regular litter collection days and have gathered to fill potholes in roads.
The county joined the effort a few years ago and Sen. Tom Apodaca and Rep. David Guice contributed $75,000 each from their discretionary funds toward the project. The community also qualified for state transportation funding.
The first phase of the Silver Creek project is estimated at $250,000 for 1.3 miles of road improvement.