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Streets near Southpark Mall to see major repaving during Christmas rush

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just in time for Christmas shopping, driving on several streets near Southpark Mall could get a little tricky.

Starting Thursday, contractors will begin patching some of the trouble spots on Sharon Road near Runnymede Street starting at 9 a.m., as long as it doesn't rain.

Then they'll do the same on Wendover Road -- all the way over to Monroe Road.

It's the first phase of a major repaving project that will continue in the spring.

For now, the work will be limited to patching, and that will mean closing one lane of traffic between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and engineers plan to keep a close eye on any problems.

"We're aware of the traffic that's around the mall area so we're going to keep a monitor traffic around the area and if we deem it's a safety concern -- if traffic backs up too much -- then we'll halt the work in that area," said Jeff D'Arruda, an engineer with the DOT.

D'Arruda says the contractor cannot work at night because the temperature may drop too low, not allowing the asphalt to set properly.

The contractor said they will not work weekends to minimize impact on shoppers.

Still, some drivers are not looking forward to the work.

"It's just really dangerous here, because there are a lot of kids across that street and a lot of people walking back and forth," Terri Arnold said as she waited to pull onto Wendover Road near Monroe Road.

"It's just really a bad place to do things," she said.