Thanks to the North Carolina Department of Transportation updating its original plans for a road straightening project, Haus Heidelberg, a German restaurant at 630 Greenville Highway, will get to remain right where it started when Helge Gresser took over the business 30 years ago.
The NCDOT originally had planned on having to acquire more of the property of the restaurant, which sits at the intersection of Greenville Highway and Joel Wright Drive. The project’s original plans had a wider shoulder on Joel Wright Drive, which would’ve resulted in the restaurant having to relocate, according to the restaurant’s owner, Helge Gresser.
NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama told the Times-News on Jan. 22 that design adjustments are part of a typical review of design plans when they reach 65% complete.
“This process is applied to all NCDOT construction projects during the right-of-way phase,” he said. “For this project, NCDOT right-of-way agents and design engineers initiated acquisition negotiations that spurred minor adjustments of the plan in order move the project away from private property. The specific adjustment is reducing the width of a shoulder on Joel Wright Drive.”