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Holly Springs Points to Road Damage as New Reason to Block Landfill
Holly Springs residents have been fighting a landfill proposal for 16 years, and they point to a road being torn up by heavy trucks as another reason to just say no.
Posted — UpdatedHOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — The idea of putting a landfill in Holly Springs dates to 1990, and people in Holly Springs have been fighting a losing battle against it since then. Now, they say that what's happening to some of their roads is just one more reason to stop the landfill from coming.
You’ll find cracked pavement, puddles, and piles of what used to be Old Holly Springs-Apex Road. The road runs behind the proposed landfill, and heavy trucks started hauling in dirt for filler about two weeks ago. In the process, they took part of the road with them.
“All of a sudden, it was like, ‘Whoa, what happened?” said one woman navigating the road.
“I don't know what they're doing back here, but they're tearing it up pretty bad,” said Dave Orzelek, who was driving the road.
State Department of Transportation engineers say this road was never built to handle heavy truck traffic, so, it deteriorated very quickly when a number of trucks started coming through here daily.
Crews were out earlier this week grading the roadway, but engineers there's no timetable for a permanent fix.
Mayor Dick Sears is angry.
“Who's gonna pay for it? And you know what—I don't know the answer to that. I don't know the answer to that,” the mayor said.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Sears said. “They're just getting started. What's gonna happen next?”
The new landfill is expected to receive at least 150 trucks a day.
For now, Wake County leaders have closed the back entrance to the proposed site, so trucks can't get in that way. They have to use the NC 55 Bypass, a road built for heavy trucks. Sears argues that solution could lead to traffic problems there, however.
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