By Chandler Inions

chandler.inions@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — The Landis Board of Aldermen took the necessary steps to move forward with closing East Mill Drive’s connection to East Ryder Avenue and U.S. Hwy. 29 on Monday.

Town Manager Michael Ambrose said that the North Carolina Department of Transportation recommended closing the easternmost end of East Mills Drive, where it connects to East Ryder Avenue and ultimately the Hwy. 29 intersection as a matter of “safety for that area.”

A public hearing was held on Monday at the regular-scheduled aldermen meeting, but no one present opted to speak. However, one East Mills Drive resident, Gene Hilton, submitted a letter that Ambrose read aloud.

In his letter, Hilton said, “I want to cast my vote to close East Mills Drive.”

Offering her reasoning behind closing that end of the road, Mayor Meredith Bare Smith said the intersection often presents a blind spot, especially with motorists navigating that space to get to the World Corner Mart.

“People try to come across (Hwy.) 29 through Ryder onto East Mills Drive,” Smith said of the dangers posed by having two roads meet the highway in virtually the same spot.

Landis is currently working with NCDOT to restructure the entire Ryder Avenue-Old Beatty Ford Avenue intersection with Hwy. 29.

Alderman Darrell Overcash said, “This is going to show the state that we are serious about wanting to do this — enhancing that intersection at Ryder and Hwy. 29.”

As the mayor pointed out, the project will have to be paid for by the town’s Powell Bill funding. The Powell Bill is North Carolina’s non-state system street aid allocation program.

“Its on our Powell Bill because it’s a town-maintained road,” Smith said. “This is not something DOT can come in and close down. It’s something that we have to do.”

The ordinance to close the right-of-way indicated that the town has been petitioned by the state to permanently close the East Mills Drive and East Ryder Avenue intersection as it had been deemed unsafe due to its close proximity to Hwy. 29.

Notice of the road closure was given in accordance with legal requirements.

Another matter of significance is that the town investigated and found no undue hardships or injury to the public interest of those residents living on East Mills Drive or the subdivision.

The road’s closure went into effect after the ordinance’s passage.