On Wednesday, October 29, the Town held its monthly project meeting with State Utility Contractors to receive updates on the waterline project. Please be mindful that the Town has been providing the information it has been given by contractors, engineers, and NCDOT. This is a complex project in which field conditions can result in delays and alterations in work and schedules. Thank you for your continued patience during this once-in-a-lifetime project installing 4 miles of waterline for the backbone of the Town’s water distribution system to improve water quality and fire flow, as recommended in the 2007 Water & Sewer Master Plan. If you have questions, please contact Town Hall at 704-436-9800.
Several people have asked why it looks like crews are constantly digging up the same areas. The general order of operations to install new waterline is as follows:
1. Cut pavement
2. Dig Trench
3. Install Line
4. Temporarily fill trench with soil
5. Once new waterline reaches specified points, pressure test with water and disinfect
6. Dig out trench to specified depth and fill with NCDOT approved materials depending on location of trench (appropriate combination of stone, soil, and/or flowable fill per NCDOT approved pavement schedule). Engineering contractors and NCDOT conduct inspections during this process to ensure appropriate compaction. If compaction is not approved, then the fill has to be altered/remediated.
7. Pavement is restored along trenched area. Final paving will occur later when all work is complete.
8. Service tie-ins are completed for each customer. This typically requires some digging around each customer’s meter box to make the connections.
The chart and map at the end of this update show the status of each segment of the project. Below is a summary of the status of each segment of the project:
N. Main Street (including Crestwood and Cook Street)
Waterline installation on N. Main Street between North Drive and Hwy. 49 (including western Crestwood Drive) is complete. Waterline installation on N. Main Street between Hwy. 49 and Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) is complete, and N. Main Street was reopened on October 17. Restoration around a pressure reducing valve vault in the sidewalk near the public parking lot entrance is still outstanding and is scheduled to be completed the first week of November.
S. Main Street
Waterline installation on S. Main Street between Franklin St. (Hwy. 73) and Lee Street is nearly complete. As soon as the line is complete, it will be pressure tested and the trench on S. Main Street will be excavated, filled with flowable fill, and asphalt will be restored during the first part of November. Rain during the last week of October delayed the relocation of metal plates currently being used in another work zone to this area to cover exposed dirt, but the contractor is working to get this resolved.
Hwy. 49
The connection to the existing Hwy. 73 waterline has been completed this week. Testing has taken place, and one small area needs to be corrected. Once corrected, the waterline will be chlorinated and put into service. Affected sidewalk will be replaced during November.
E. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73)
In early September, a crew began working on installation of the new 12-inch waterline on E. Franklin Street from Main Street to Blueberry Street. This section of road has a wider cross section to work in and has been utilizing lane closures and flagging Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm (as permitted by NCDOT). Work on E. Franklin Street will take place through November.
W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73)
State Utility has two crews working on W. Franklin Street to expedite the completion of that section. One crew has completed installation of waterline in the southern ditchline between N. Skyland Drive and Halifax Street. The waterline crosses to the north side of W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) at Halifax Street. This crew will continue installation within the roadway toward the Square. Beginning the first week of November, a second crew will be working westward from the Square toward Halifax Street. The two crews will meet each other to complete the line in the vicinity of College Street.
On October 27, a road closure was established on W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) between Halifax and Main Street. This road closure was required be[y NCDOT due the tight working area within this section of Highway 73. The detour utilizes N. Main Street and Hwy. 49. Detour signs are in place. State Utility is working to add an additional digital sign on northbound Highway 49 to warn motorists not to take the exit to travel eastbound on Highway 73. All through traffic for eastbound 73 needs to stay on northbound Highway 49 and turn right on N. Main St. as indicated by the detour signs. The closure and detour have been added to the TIMS system for the DriveNC.gov website. Apple and Google maps also reflect this closure and detour. The closure will remain in place for approximately 8 weeks while this section is completed.
Overall Project Schedule
The schedule for the current project scope provided by the contractor shows completion of the waterline installation and operational lines at the end of December. Restoration of impacted curb & gutter, sidewalk, disturbed ground cover will likely continue through early January. NCDOT has scheduled final resurfacing of Main Street and Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) for the spring.
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