By: Erin Smith
Crews with the NC Department of Transportation were hard at work Thursday morning on NC 53 near Camp Clearwater at White Lake pouring cement. The project is part of a larger resurfacing project of NC 53 that will see the highway gain new pavement from Pender County to US 701 and the installation of a left turn lane at the intersection of NC 53 and White Lake Drive.
NC DOT District Engineer Drew Cox said the town of White Lake has made repeated requests for a left turn lane to be installed at the intersection of NC 53 and White Lake Drive. Cox said the town has reported to DOT officials that folks traveling southbound on NC 53 are pulling into the northbound travel lane to turn left onto White Lake Drive.
Cox said that when Camp Clearwater did an expansion several years ago, White Lake Drive was moved slightly. Camp Clearwater used to maintain an entrance located on NC 53 and a right turn lane was installed. Cox said at some point, Camp Clearwater officials decided to no longer use the entrance on NC 53.
Cox said that DOT has installed pavement markings in the area to try to help motorists, but Cox said town officials still have concerns about turning vehicles. He said the work being performed on Thursday is an adjusted curb and gutter project to accommodate the installation of a left turn lane.
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