Following the lead of the Sampson County Board of Commissioners and the town councils for the City of Clinton and Newton Grove, commissioners in both Roseboro and Garland have signed off on a resolution showing support to complete upgrades for a four-lane expansion of the N.C. 24 corridor.

Both Roseboro and Garland town board adopted the resolution during regular monthly meetings Tuesday night.

Funds are already in place to cover the 34-mile stretch between Cumberland County and the Moltonville area of Sampson County. The resolution would cover funding for the remaining section, extending from Moltonville Road to Interstate 40 in Duplin County.

Roseboro and Garland commissioners gave their nods of approval, calling the funding a great need for the completion of the N.C. 24 project that proposes a four-land roadway stretching approximately 40 miles, from Cumberland County to I-40 near Warsaw. In February, one of the last two unfunded segments of the project was approved for state funds.

“N.C. 24 provides an east-west corridor for industrial, commercial, military, and emergency traffic in this region of North Carolina, connecting the metro regions of Fayetteville and Jacksonville,” the resolution states. “Projected traffic on N.C. 24 in Clinton is expected to be as many as 30,000 vehicles a day, which will result in traffic congestion and a bottleneck at the point N.C. 24 contracts from four lanes to two lanes.”

Not much was said at the Roseboro meeting concerning the adoption of the resolution, other than commissioners saying it was a step in a long process that needed to be done.

“We need to show our support of this,” commissioner Anthony Bennett said. “If other towns have adopted the resolution, we need to follow.”

During a Tuesday night meeting, the Garland Board of Commissioners also approved a resolution showing support to complete upgrades for a four-lane expansion of the N.C. 24 corridor. Along with other commissioners, Mayor Pro-Tem Haywood Johnson was supportive of the project, with the stipulation it come with no additional cost for the town and residents of Garland.

Reach Kristy D. Carter or Chase Jordan at 910-592-8137. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd. Like us on Facebook.

By Kristy D. Carter

and Chase Jordan