DAVIDSON COUNTY – The Davidson County Board of Commissioners have approved an economic incentives package for a project that could bring at least 20 jobs to Davidson County.

According to Steve Googe, executive director of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission, the company, which is being code-named Project 3C, would receive $5,400 annually for five years if it accepts the package with Davidson County. Providing wages at or above the county wage, the company plans to invest $2 million in plant machinery and equipment.

“They are in negotiations with some folks on some property,” Googe said of Project 3C. “We can’t really even discuss where they are going to be.”

Googe said he was contacted by the company about a year ago before it returned four months ago.

“It’s my understanding that we are in competition with the 85 corridor, from here all the way down to South Carolina,” he said.

Googe couldn’t provide any other details on the company until it decides to make an official announcement.

In other business, the board awarded an $8,500 contract for a private engineering firm to study the Wil-Cox Bridge, which is adjacent to the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River and serves as a thoroughfare to the town of Spencer. The bridge, built in 1922, could be demolished as part of the Interstate 85 project if Davidson County doesn’t take over ownership.

The board decided to wait on taking ownership of the bridge until it hears a report from its engineer, County Manager Robert Hyatt said. Hyatt said the N.C. Department of Transportation wants a decision from the county on the bridge, so plans to replace the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River are “shovel ready.”

Some Davidson County officials hope the Wil-Cox Bridge will serve as a pedestrian walkway for thousands of motorists who travel along Interstate 85. The Wil-Cox Bridge is eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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