ELIZABETH CITY John Patterson Jr. parked the 1994 cityowned Ford pickup, got out and stood over an 8foot square patch in the asphalt at the intersection of Church and Shirley streets.Wearing a safety vest over a camouflage sweatshirt, he looked down where a traffic cone guarded the latest repair. His tan ball cap with the Elizabeth City logo shaded his eyes.The city had recently hired a contractor to break up the pavement, repair a leaking water line below and patch the hole. That patch had settled, so Patterson and his crew patched it again. But even the second patch had settled a little, indicating the water line might still be leaking. Patterson would know that.
That would not be a Rhodes Scholar. The University of Oxford never contacted him. He never even enrolled in college. But as part of his job, the city sent Patterson to the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University.Patterson has taken seven courses there in road repair and safety, qualifying him to be a roads scholar. The institute offers up to 20 courses through a federal program available in every state, said Linda Collier, assistant director of the Local Technical Assistance Program at the institute. Each course costs a city $99, Collier said. Over the years, several hundred people have earned roads scholar status in North Carolina, she said. Patterson is the only one in Elizabeth City. Patterson also has taken four courses toward an advanced roads scholar designation.
Standing about 6foot6 in his wellworn, thicksoled work boots, Patterson, 44, played lineman at nearby Northeastern High School. After graduation, he worked for the city's sanitation department a few years before traveling to New York City, where he got a job in child care.He admitted it sounds a little odd for a former football player weighing more than 300 pounds to be caring for small children. He liked the job but returned home when his grandparents died. He went back to work for the city.Patterson knows how to fill a big hole in the street where a water or sewer line runs, fill it with just the right amount of sand, then pack a mix of small rocks known as crush and run, and add the correct depth of asphalt typically four inches.Patterson serves as one of three working supervisors in a 15person repair department responsible for 66 miles of streets, said Paul Fredette, director of Elizabeth City public utilities. They fix 25 to 35 potholes a month and 15 to 20 cutouts, a condition where the pavement is purposely removed to repair water and sewer lines below.
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