On Thursday, the Guilford County Commissioners will discuss giving a proposed asphalt plant the go ahead in the Liberty Road area. Meanwhile, neighbors are upset and protesting.
GREENSBORO -- On Thursday, the Guilford County Commissioners will discuss giving a proposed asphalt plant the go ahead in the Liberty Road area. Meanwhile, neighbors have been petitioning and lining streets with signs in protest.
Linda Moore is one of those protesters. She has been fighting the project since February.
“We are diametrically opposed to heavy industry in that area and an asphalt plant," said Moore.
Thanks to a petition that is 1,100 names strong and a couple hundred protest signs, she's not alone.
“I think our voice is our strength. I think our message is our strength," added Moore.
On Thursday, the Guilford County Commissioners will discuss giving a proposed asphalt plant the go ahead in the Liberty Road area.
For Sharpe Bros., the company that wants to build the plant, it's the best location in town and already in a heavy industrial area.
“There's a rock quarry right across the street, there's a trucking company adjacent to this property, and there's also a concrete plant there, so it is a heavy industrial area," said Ivan Clayton, vice president and general manager of Sharpe Bros.
But those against the plant have their concerns, and they say, looking at it objectively, who would want to live next to an asphalt plant?
“There are 37 acres outside of this proposed site, so if this site is proposed heavy industry, the real fear is not only will we get an asphalt plant but you have 37 acres and who's going to want to build next to an asphalt plant?" Moore asked.
There are also concerns about heavy traffic on the two-lane road.
“We know that could potentially increase the number of trucks per day for just the asphalt plant to around 220 trucks a day," she said.
Homeowners, like Moore, are also worried about their property values decreasing.
“It's definitely bringing down the house value. We have a house down here that had a sale in May, the person found out about the asphalt plant, said they didn't want the house, and that house has not sold yet," Moore explained.
But Clayton defends Sharpe Bros.' business which was originally turned down by the planning board in February but came back with a new proposal in May.
“It's not like it was in the past; it's a much nicer, cleaner, state-of-the-art facility. This is a brand new facility that we propose to put in," said Clayton.
The Commissioners will take this issue up at their meeting Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.