On Thursday April 4, the Technical Coordinatin Committee of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) voted to support a resolution to divide the Matthews portion of the John Street widening into two portions. The resolution included a delay to widening the portion of John St. inside I-485 to Trade St. and to continue the rest of the project as scheduled. Wednesday night the Municipal Planning Organization portion of the CRTPO unanimously voted to support the resolution as well. When the TIP budget is passed by the NCDOT Board in August the resolution and delay will be officially adopted. Once officially adopted by NCDOT this means the John Street widening will be postponed until after other area projects are complete. It’s anticipated those projects will take 6 years.

News Around Town: Yesterday,April 18, was National Lineman Day. Started in 2013, this day of recognition honors the men and women responsible for running and fixing electrical transmission lines, often first on call with downed lines during the worst storms. According to the National Lineman Appreciation Day website there are more than 170 million wood power poles in the US, 2.7 million transmission towers, and 9 million miles of wire. The average salary for linemen is $63,250.

One Fun Thing: Today is the last day to hunt the elusive Beacster eggs! On Monday we’ll announce the grand winner and the daily winners. Until then, keep hunting and sending Norah (norah@matthewsbeacon.com) the links!