Posted Wednesday, September 18, 2019 12:00 am

It’s official. The newest road in Mount Olive has been named Pickle Road.

It was unanimously approved at last week’s meeting of the Town Board of Commissioners.

The name was requested by the Mount Olive Pickle Company.

It is a two-lane, one-tenth of a mile stretch from N.C. Highway 55, just East of Breazeale Avenue, over to Talton Street.

The new state road is designed to decrease big rig truck traffic along Breazeale Avenue, Church Street and Park Avenue.

Officials estimate approximately 50,000 big trucks travel those three streets annually en route to the pickle plant and its distribution center and area warehouses.

In addition to the new street that will handle eastbound and westbound trucks along U.S. Highway 55, the pickle plant also plans to construct a staging area for big rig trucks to park.

Plans call for the area to handle about 60 big trucks at one time. It will include refrigeration capabilities, scales, and restroom facilities.

There is no timeline on when that area is expected to be completed.

The new road is already open, but there are still cosmetic improvements to be done.

The entrance to Pickle Road off Highway 55 also features Highway 55 turning lanes for both east and west bound traffic.

“I think the name of Pickle Road is appropriate. It is very simple. North Carolina has been known as Tobacco Road forever, and naming this Pickle Road seems the logical thing to do,” said Town Manager Charles Brown.

He applauded the Pickle Company, the state and the town for working together to see the project through.

“It will eliminate a lot of problems we were having with the big rigs,” Brown said.

Some of the truckers were getting lost in town due to GPS issues, he said, and in many cases tried to go down streets simply not designed to handle large truck traffic.

Brown said the truckers often knocked down utility poles and fire hydrants along the way.

An official opening for the new road has not been scheduled at this time.