‘Road hazard’: Neighbors say cars are being ruined by dumps of concrete in west Charlotte community
Neighbors said they have been outraged for years dealing with concrete dumps on their west Charlotte neighborhood streets.
They said it’s a danger to drivers and bicyclists and that all they want is for those responsible to clean it up, so they turned to Channel 9 to get answers.
“It’s just a major road hazard,” said Eric Harden. “If not daily, it’s multiple times a week.”
He and his neighbors captured the images below, showing wet concrete spilled right in the middle of their roads in the Seversville community. A photo he took just weeks ago shows a big chunk of what Harden said was wet concrete.
“Luckily, I was able to notice it in time and didn’t drive through it in my car,” he said.
But Harden said others haven’t been as lucky.
“They probably weren’t aware or didn’t see it until it was too late. They get home and have concrete all under their cars, on the sides of their cars and they don’t know where it came from,” he said.
ALSO READ: Residents in east Charlotte want safer conditions on dangerous stretch of road
Neighbors said some of the spills are cleaned up when they are still wet concrete but others harden, forming bumps in the road that should never be there.
They believe the trucks from nearby Stevenson-Weir Southern Concrete on State Street are to blame.
“I don’t think they’re doing it intentionally, I just think they’re being careless,” Harden said.
The company wouldn’t speak on-camera with Channel 9, but a manager said over the phone that they’re aware that the accidents happen. That manager said concrete builds up over time inside the trucks, taking up room which means they can’t put the same volume of concrete in the truck. To clean the built up concrete out, the company has to bring in specially trained workers, per OSHA requirements.
To try to prevent spillage, that manager said they’ve reduced the amount of cement their trucks will carry so they don’t spill any excess concrete. They have also pulled trucks off the fleet that are known to spill until workers can clean buildup out, and they have put tracking devices and cameras on all of their trucks to catch it, according to the manager.
They also said they clean up spills as soon as they can. The below photo shows those efforts, where workers can be seen sweeping the road.
But Harden said it just happens too often and has for too long.
“Oh yeah, for years, absolutely,” he said.
He’s not asking the company to move, but he doesn’t want to keep dodging concrete dumps either.
“We’re just asking you to be good neighbors and be a little careful,” he said.
Stevenson-Weir Southern Concrete told Channel 9 that they want to be good neighbors and if anyone sees one of the their trucks spilling concrete, to give them a call and report it.
According to city ordinances, a company that spills things like concrete or gravel into roadways are responsible for cleaning it up in a timely manner or else they could be fined.
(WATCH BELOW: Meck County: Company behind Charlotte’s odor violated ‘objectionable odor’ rule)
