Steve Mensing, Editor
♦Monday afternoon I spoke with County Commissioner Jim Sides and the conversation wound up on I-85–specifically the long needed I-85 interchange into Southern Rowan County. While we talked with growing excitement about how economically undeveloped Southern Rowan County is and how it could be prime turf for a major influx of new mega-retail areas. We mentioned long required healthcare facilities, home development, and even light industry. Jim touched on something equally if not more important. Safety and the saving of human life on I-85. Jim offered: “That stretch of I-85 where the proposed interchange off of Old Beatty Ford Road will be located is a top priority for safety reasons alone. It’s a dangerous stretch of highway for over a six and half miles long where no emergency vehicles can quickly access. If there’s a major accident, a fuel tanker catches fire, or someone is unfortunate enough to have a heart attack–they can just about hang it up. Emergency help would be a long time coming–critical time would be lost. For safety reasons alone this interchange is a must do project. NC DOT sees this and that’s why they will likely jump on board. A lot of people who travel I-85 are endangered by the lack of emergency vehicle access here. If you had the bad luck of having a highway emergency at the midpoint between the two nearest interchanges you’d have quite a wait. That’s three and a quarter miles in either direction. You know the traffic on I-85 some days is pretty rough. Think about those Charlotte Race Car weekends. Bumper to bumper. Bud, you don’t want to have a wreck when that happens.”
Indeed, even above the economic transformation of South Rowan, emergency vehicle access makes the I-85 interchange at Old Beatty Ford Road a major priority.
Traffic is growing on I-85, forcing NC DOT to undertake widening the highway. Daily traffic counts back in 2010 ranged from 2,900 to 4,000 per day. The traffic count projections for 2035 are said to be about 4,1000 to 5,800 per day. The highway demands widening for safety reasons.
Before I launch into the overwhelming upside that an I-85 interchange would reap for Southern Rowan County, I’d like to bring up some of South Rowan’s history. Its a history that County Commissioner Craig Pierce told me about during his successful campaign last Fall for county commissioner. Like his expertise on the County Airport, Craig is extremely knowledgeable about this area. He is likely the biggest booster of the I-85 interchange into Southern Rowan County. Craig told me: “One of the contributing factors to stagnant growth in the county is the agenda to keep all the business in Salisbury and not let it expand past the intersect of I-85 and Highway 52. A prime example is the lack of or intended absence of interchanges in Southern Rowan County. Next time you travel South on I-85, notice that last interchange is at Julian Road. From there to the Lane Street exit, no interchanges exist linking the towns of China Grove, Landis, and Enochville. This was by design. In the 50′s, when the interstate was put through from Greensboro to Charlotte, cotton was king. Mr. Cannon and Mr. Corriher, owners of the largest cotton mills in the South, did not want their employees to be able to easily travel to other towns such as Charlotte and Greensboro to spend their hard earned money. Mr. Cannon and Mr. Corriher “convinced” the powers that be in Raleigh to bypass the southern part of the county with a viable interchange in order to corral their employees into their company-owned stores and communities. The rest is history. Now Rowan County is feeling the effect of these self-serving decisions. With the widening of I-85, this lessons our chance to fix the problem and open up this forgotten part of the county to new economic opportunities as Charlotte expands North and Greensboro expands South. If we miss this opportunity, then we are finished from ever being the county we could be.”
“I have,” continued Craig. ”On several occasions made my desire known to have a new interchange in the Southern end of our county become a reality. This would not only be an economic boon for China Grove, Landis, and Kannapolis, but would result in greater tax revenues benefitting the entire county. The increase in tax value of land and construction could easily top 300 million dollars. This does not include the sales tax revenue from big box stores, restaurants, entertainment, and service industry sales. That’s a lot of job creation. We could see our unemployment levels figures dive to levels around 4-4 1/2 percent. It is fair to say this is our future for Rowan County.”
According to the Rowan County Commissioner’s recent resolution in support of the I-85 interchange into Southern Rowan County: “It is a top economic priority. It offers a tremendous impact for the Southern Rowan area and projects 20,000 direct and indirect jobs created over the next 25 years. Further the North Carolina Department of Revenue Sales Tax figures indicate that Rowan County experiences a significant amount of “retail sales leakage” to adjacent counties and such leakage is in part due to a lack of retail services within the county and South Rowan.”
At a Republican Men’s Breakfast two Saturdays ago State Rep. Carl Ford, a long-time resident of South Rowan and a radio station owner, is a solid voice for the I-85 interchange. “Its a must do project not only for very important safety reasons, it needs to get done to lift the economy in South Rowan. It will do wonders for all of Rowan. I met with State Transportation Secretary Tony Tata. He seems all for it–asked a lot of questions. I believe the I-85 interchange will get done. Too much going for it. Time is right with I-85 being widened. Steve, you know and I know that interchange could truly spark major economic development.”
I definitely see Jim’s, Craig’s, and Carl’s stances on the I-85 interchange into South Rowan. County Commissioner Mike Caskey, who lives in Enochville, is gung ho about it too. That interchange doesn’t only spell much needed safety, it could create a cornucopia of retail and economic growth. It’s easy to imagine a Huntersville style retail area brimming with big box stores–easily accessible from Salisbury and the rest of the county. Folks would no longer need to motor down I-85 to Concord Mills, Afton Ridge, or the array of retail found in Huntersville. Nor would they have to spend gas money to drive over to Winston-Salem. A shopping mecca would be right here in Southern Rowan.
If Salisbury persists in fighting off business, large retail, and industry with high taxes, arbitrary codes and regulations and urban flight continues unabated–then perhaps a Brasilia-like modern city could rise up in South Rowan. As Salisbury slinks further into urban decay, nimbyism, advancing crime and poverty, and control crazy factions–perhaps the county seat will require future uprooting. A modern city in South Rowan. A mega-opolis–a duty free port–a vast tax base beyond the fangs of Salisbury. Mensingville.
