Some Residents May Have To Wait Another Month For Isabel Storm Cleanup

In September, Isabel did most of her damage on the coast, but inland neighborhoods like the Muirfield subdivision lost a lot of limbs. Many residents started calling the state Department of Transportation about removing them in October.

"We were told at that time that the bid was going out and our trash would be picked up. Our debris would be up by Thanksgiving," resident Randy Overton said. "Thanksgiving rolled around and the debris was still here, so several of the neighbors started calling the DOT again and after Thanksgiving, I decided to call the governor's office."

That call trickled down to Jerry Linder, the DOT's road maintenance supervisor in Wake County. He said the federal government declared North Carolina a disaster area in late October.

"We understand it's taken a little while to get this stuff. Unfortunately, we were declared late," he said.

Linder said the late declaration slowed his department's response, but the neighbors are upset that the debris removal has not taken place.

"It makes me mad. The governor's people should be more on top of these things," Overton said. "They should not let something like this drag out for three months."

The DOT just put the debris cleanup contract out to bid Friday. They said the debris will be hauled off by mid-January.

To put the situation in perspective, state officials said Isabel left 5,000 cubic yards of debris in Wake County. The average dump truck holds 5 cubic yards.