« London connections | Main | Goody's replacement »

July 7, 2005

Jamestown Bypass update

For those of you who didn't see this in the paper on Wednesday...Below is a story about some significant developments in the life of the Jamestown Bypass. The bypass is so-called because improvements to Greensboro-High Point Road will include circumventing Jamestown's core.

For those keeping score at home...

The fortunate: A Jamestown church and a Greensboro cemetery
The unfortunate: A Greensboro church and a Jamestown neighborhood

Raymond and Lois Carney are upset to find they're owners of not one, but two white elephants.
Nobody has bought the couple's Raleigh home in the two years since they moved to Bull Run Village in Jamestown. Now, a decision by the state means they'll lose their home in Jamestown to a road.
"Now, I've got two homes I can't do a dadburn thing with," Raymond Carney said.
At least the Carneys can take comfort in knowing they're not alone.
The N.C. Department of Transportation faced two decisions related to improvements to Greensboro-High Point Road, also called the Jamestown Bypass:
* Save a neighborhood or save a historic church property?
* Save another church or move graves in a cemetery across the street?
The agency chose a route that will circumvent Jamestown's historic Oakdale United Methodist Church but lead to the razing of all eight homes in Bull Run Village.
And the DOT chose a route that will force Greensboro's Sedgefield Baptist Church to move, so that no graves in Guilford Memorial Park will be disturbed.
The Carneys knew the bypass was coming when they moved to Jamestown. But they thought it would be far enough away to spare their new home.
In February, they learned a new route through their neighborhood was a possibility. Last week, they got a letter from the N.C. Department of Transportation saying such a route is definite. Property acquisition won't begin until fall 2006 at the earliest, but the Carneys sent a letter to the DOT on Tuesday asking that their property be bought as soon as possible. They want to find a new home.
The route sparing Oakdale United Methodist was chosen because the DOT tries whenever possible to spare historic property, said Missy Dickens, a project manager with the agency. Oakdale United Methodist's building is 90 years old, and its congregation goes back to the late 19th century.
On Sunday, talk at the church was all about the DOT decision, said Cheryl Smith, a third-generation member of Oakdale. "We feel sad for the people who will be affected by the route, but we're ecstatic for our church."
Property acquisition for the $108.5 million Jamestown Bypass will be affected slightly by the DOT's decisions. The path sparing Oakdale United Methodist will cost $1.7 million more than the original path. Going through Sedgefield Baptist, rather than moving the graves, will save roughly $2.5 million.
The agency decided not to disturb the graves because of public outcry, Dickens said. She received dozens of letters and "too many phone calls to count" from friends and family of those buried at Guilford Memorial.
Members of the 30-year-old Sedgefield Baptist aren't happy about the move. But they understand the DOT's decision. They've formed committees to determine the next step, but church members say they don't know where they'll move.
"The church is alive and well and can move and readjust," said Leonard Smith, chairman of the board of deacons. "But it's terrible to move the graves of the deceased. We don't want to see families go through that."

Posted by at July 7, 2005 1:08 PM