ROCKINGHAM — The City Council on Tuesday approved the abandonment of a right-of-way long abandoned by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The vote came following a required public hearing set last month. However, there were no residents at the July meeting to speak for or against the measure.
The abandonment was requested in early May by Phil Patterson, according to Assistant City Manager John Massey.
The property is 60 feet wide and about 200 feet long between River Road and U.S. 220, and is a remnant from when the N.C. Department of Transportation aligned River Road with Midway Road during the construction on the Midway-220 interchange, according to Massey.
Even though Massey said District Engineer Matthew Kitchen indicated that NCDOT has ceased maintenance and has no interest in the property, the city was still required to go through the abandonment process.
The right-of-way will be equally divided between adjoining property owners.
The only other business of the meeting was Mayor John Hutchinson’s appointment of Dorothy Little to the Rockingham Housing Authority. Little will serve a five-year term.
Massey said that there are two open positions on the Historic Preservation Board that need to be filled, but he did not have any recommendations for appointments.
City Manager Monty Crump and Councilwoman Anne Edwards were not at the meeting.
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