Residents press county over unflagged nighttime utility work after near‑accidents on Carrollton‑Tyus Road

Resident Blake Austin told the Carroll County Board of Commissioners March 4 that his wife nearly had an accident driving home after dark when she encountered utility crews on Carrollton‑Tyus Road and on another night saw the same problem recur.

Austin said he manages multiple rental branches and emphasized that his work enforces a stop‑work safety authority; he said the crews he saw were working without flaggers or police traffic control and that approaching traffic was sometimes routed against normal flow. He showed commissioners he had dash‑cam footage and said his wife had called 911; Austin said he shared the video with several commissioners and offered to provide it to county staff.

“If I see it as one acre, just remodeling the store that's there, I mean, I don't believe it's going to be drawing traffic,” Austin said when the zoning item was discussed, but in public comment he focused on safety practices during roadside work. He asked the county to be a voice for resident safety and to ensure contractors use appropriate traffic control, especially after dark on a 45‑mph county road.

Austin also named Charter Spectrum as a company whose crews had been present and said one sign used to warn motorists was blown over on a night he observed work. He urged the board to ensure workers use flaggers or other controls and to prevent crews from blocking lanes when traffic must move against the flow.

The board did not take formal action during public comment. Austin said he would provide the dash‑cam footage to commissioners and staff for follow‑up.

The comments were made during the public‑comment portion of the meeting and did not trigger a specific vote or referral on the agenda. They were recorded in the meeting transcript for staff follow‑up.