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Construction begins on new entrance to town of Forest Hills
By Justin Goble
Construction recently began on the sign marking the entrance to Forest Hills.
According to Mayor Jim Davis, officials from the town have been working to get the sign at the intersection of N.C. 107 and Forest Hills Road built for some time.
“This is something that we’ve been waiting on for four years – maybe even five,” Davis said. “We lost some time waiting on a landscaper, but it finally went forward. Our town board gets all the credit for making it happen. They worked really hard to get this going.”
Forest Hills Mayor Jim Davis, left, stands with landscaper Luis Rojas Salazar in front of the town’s new entrance sign. Construction on the entrance, which sits at the intersection of N.C. 107 and Forest Hills Road, began in October. Davis said the project will cost around $20,000 and be completed sometime in the near future. – Herald photo by Justin Goble.
When completed, Davis said the entrance area will include a rock wall, numerous plants and decorative boulders.
To accommodate the construction, Davis said the Department of Transportation agreed to put in a left-hand turning lane to allow drivers easier access to South Country Club Drive. A right-turn/straight lane will be built to allow access to Stadium View Drive and North Country Club Drive.
“We were very fortunate,” Davis said. “The DOT has agreed to do that work for us. They were thinking about doing it anyway, so it worked out well. We’re going to put in sidewalks on both sides, which we hope will tie into the county’s greenway project.”
Overall construction will cost around $20,000, Davis said. Half of that money came from the town’s mediation with the owners of Summit Apartments.
“They gave the money willingly, which was great,” Davis said. “So we’re doing the preliminary construction with a lot of that money. We’re also going to spend $10,000 doing additional work and determining rights of way. That’s been a big issue. I had initially envisioned sweeping walls on both sides of the road, but with rights of way being what they are we basically had a narrow box in which to put this. Hopefully all of this work will be done soon.”
Town board member Joe Rossano said he is happy work has begun on the entrance, saying it will be a good thing for the residents of Forest Hills.
“I think it will make a great impact on the community,” Rossano said. “Especially compared to what was here before. That was a glorified parking lot.”
“It goes a long way in establishing the presence of Forest Hills as an entity in Jackson County,” Davis said. “A lot of people didn’t know we were here. They will now, and that in turn lends dignity to the village itself and what we are.”
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