Drivers, residents frustrated with incomplete highway project in Kannapolis

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A 2.5-mile construction project on Highway 3 between Kannapolis Parkway and Loop Road was supposed to be finished in 2020 but it still is not complete.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation shut down lanes on the Kannapolis highway in the summer of 2020 and said the road project would be done in four months.

However, it is still causing headaches for drivers three years later.

“And the way I got it figured, it’s going to take about four more years,” said a resident who lives near the intersection of Cypress Avenue and Mooresville Road.

The contractor anticipates the road construction to be completed by the end of this year.

Neighbors are not convinced.

“Well, we will wait and see about that,” said a resident, who didn’t want to be identified. “I hope it is, but I still say it’s going to take a couple more years at the rate they are going.”

NCDOT cited labor shortages and utility conflicts with the project delays.

“Like other industries, the department has had challenges related to labor shortage of contract forces. That has contributed to the project delays, in addition to utility conflicts that have extended the contract time,” NCDOT officials said in a statement.

The primary contractor, J.T. Russell and Sons, agreed with NCDOT’s statement saying in part, “Like other industries, the department has had challenges related to labor shortage of contract forces that have contributed to the project delays, in addition to utility conflicts that have extended the contract time.”

Noemi Rodriguez, who lives a few blocks down the street, said she moved in last year.

“I don’t know,” Rodriguez said. “We have been waiting on this for a long time. I don’t know if they will finish it or not.”

There is not a date for when the project will be done.

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