New pavement markings around the NCDOT’s Potts-Sloan-Beaty road project on Davidson’s West Side signal that there’s more asbestos removal to come in the area.
White “asbestos” markers along Griffith, Beaty and Sloan streets show where soil testing in November 2025 found additional buried asbestos. (There’s a map on the town website.) One marker is next to a park bench at Roosevelt Wilson Park, where some asbestos removal has already happened.
Since December, NCDOT contractors have been removing asbestos-laden soil from land between Sloan and Potts streets, where a road connection is planned. NCDOT originally said in a Dec. 8 meeting that cleanup would take about a month. But workers on site have told me it’s taking longer than expected.
Asbestos from the nearby former Carolina Asbestos Co. mill on Depot Street (now Linden Mill) was spread across the neighborhood for decades in the 20th century. Soil sampling in 2020 found asbestos at more than two dozen locations in the road corridor. Some was removed as part of a Charlotte Water project a few years ago. Other tainted soil in people’s yards was cleaned up by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 2017 and 2021. New construction or projects that disturb the soil on Davidson’s West Side must check for contamination and clean it up if needed.
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral that was used for decades in all kinds of applications, including building and pipe insulation, brake linings, shingles and tiles, and even hair dryers. However, if the tiny fibers become airborne, they can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. As my 2021 WFAE radio project “Asbestos Town” reported, many Davidson residents say they have lost family members to asbestos disease.
NCDOT is adding a roundabout at Griffith and Beaty streets, widening the roads and building the Sloan-Potts connection.
The cleanup has West Side residents concerned. I talked to Clinton Donaldson of Sloan Street in December. He applauds the removal work, but like other neighbors he’s not convinced all the asbestos has been located.
“It would be extremely important for the residents in this area and throughout Davidson to get this matter completely corrected if we’re going to go forward with the project as it’s seen now,” he said.
“It’s very obvious that this area has asbestos contamination, and it’s not just located in the area that you see behind me,” he said as we stood on his front porch near the Potts-Sloan cleanup site. “It would be totally ridiculous to think that this is the only area that has asbestos. I have attempted on several occasions to get a clear explanation as to why we are actually confronted with this problem, and the problem has been ongoing for some time, and I am not satisfied at all with what I’ve been told.”
Contractors have also added new fencing along Sloan Street where asbestos has been found. NCDOT says it has been monitoring air quality daily and will continue to do so as long as the removal continues. Work is supposed to stop if there are risks of airborne asbestos, which can cause fatal lung disease and cancer.
Air monitoring data for January and February posted on the town website shows that extremely small amounts of asbestos fibers have been found in air samples, but it has remained below levels considered unsafe.
The Town of Davidson says on its website that the asbestos removal will continue through April.
“Asbestos abatement work continues on the connector section and in specific locations outside of the connector, with fencing in place and locked gates to restrict access from the public.
“1. For abatement areas outside of the connector portion, one lane of roadway is blocked during working hours, with traffic control in place.
“2. Required air monitoring remains in place for the duration of the abatement.
“3. Contractors are adhering to all federal and state regulations pertaining to asbestos. “
David Boraks 