By Jim Buice

The Clemmons Courier

With the roundabout on U.S. 158 firmly in place, Bermuda Run completed the finishing touch for the center – a towering 17-foot obelisk.

“We anticipate the roundabout obelisk to be complete and uplit by the end of the month,” said Lee Rollins, town manager. Rollins called it “an artistic entry into Bermuda Run and Davie County, providing a nod toward the numerous cupulas already in place in many Bermuda Run businesses. The fabricated blue heron is a nod toward the wildlife Bermuda Run and Davie County residents continue to enjoy, with the Yadkin River and numerous ponds and lakes where the blue heron finds sanctuary. The stone and brick work is a reminder of the agrarian and bucolic history the Town and Davie County enjoy.”

By definition, an obelisk is an upright four-sided pillar that gradually tapers as it rises and typically terminates in a pyramid. Functionally, Rollins said that the obelisk provides a visual break for drivers entering the roundabout. So while it provides an alluring image as motorists cross the bridge over the Yadkin River on U.S. 158 into Bermuda Run, he said that it helps so you don’t see through the roundabout, which is deemed to actually make it safer, too. Scott Miller of Miller Landscape Architecture PA in Winston-Salem designed the obelisk.

The project was separated from the roundabout project. The low bid for the project was awarded to Davie Construction at $66,732. Sculptor Dempsey Calhoun of Mocksville was commissioned to design and fabricate a 30-inch stylized blue heron to be placed inside the cupula, which will be uplit at night. He is also fabricating a 30-inch to 36-inch tall abstracted weathervane to go on top of the copper roof.

“The town was very pleased that a Davie County company and artist are constructing and fabricating the project,” Rollins said. With the mayor out of town and no proposed action items on the agenda, Bermuda Run cancelled its monthly meeting in September. In the previous meeting in August, having another roundabout on U.S. 158 (at the intersection of N.C. 801) was mentioned as a possibility for Bermuda Run. Jonathan Guy, a design consultant for Kimley Horn, gave the Town Council a report on the Transportation Feasibility Study that began last year. Guy gave his presentation in a Davie County Commissioners meeting in July and then came to Bermuda Run to provide an update for the council. Rollins said he had received quite a bit of feedback from residents throughout Davie County about the recommendation by the consultant for a roundabout at U.S. 158/N.C. 801.

“They were surprised Bermuda Run was promoting another roundabout,” Rollins said. “The Town Council heard the recommendations but has not taken a position for or against on those recommendations.”