On Wednesday, December 10, the Town held its monthly project meeting with State Utility Contractors to receive updates on the waterline project. The November meeting was delayed due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 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 and 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
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. Final restoration will be completed upon installation of all lines.
S. Main Street
Waterline installation on S. Main Street between Franklin St. (Hwy. 73) and Lee Street is complete and has been pressure tested. The line is in the process of being disinfected and certified for service. Flowable fill and pavement restoration are complete. Final restoration will be completed upon installation of all lines.
Hwy. 49
The connection to the existing Hwy. 73 waterline has been completed, but following testing a repair was needed at the connection location. Once corrected, the waterline will be chlorinated and put into service, which is currently scheduled for early January. Final restoration will be completed upon installation of all lines.
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 Blueberry Street to Main 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). Main waterline installation will be complete in mid-January with testing, tie-ins, and pavement taking place into February. Working around existing and planned stormwater pipes in the NCDOT right-of-way in several locations slowed work down a bit on E. Franklin St.
W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73)
Main waterline installation is complete on W. Franklin Street. Crews are currently working on testing, tie-ins, and setting the pressure reducing vault and valve. Due to the poor condition of the subgrade and multiple layers of less than ideal material to punch service lines under the downtown section of W. Franklin Street, service tie-ins have been difficult to complete. NCDOT told the utility contractor this week that they will not allow open cuts to complete the few service tie-ins left. If NCDOT requires directional bores instead of allowing a few small open cuts to complete the service tie-ins, this would delay the opening of W. Franklin St. by approximately one month (into late January). The Town is working to get permission for the open cuts in order to complete the work and reopen W. Franklin within the original eight-week timeframe. If this is permitted, the schedule can move forward with flowable fill and pavement restoration taking place during the third week of December with W. Franklin St. opening before Christmas.
(Note on road closure: On October 27, a road closure was established on W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) between Halifax and Main Street. This road closure was required by NCDOT due the tight working area within this section of Highway 73. The detour utilizes N. Main Street and Hwy. 49. Digital warning signs and detour signs are in place. A digital sign was added 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 is scheduled remain in place for approximately 8 weeks while this section is completed. Businesses and residents remain accessible during the closure, although delays may be experienced when equipment is active.)
Overall Project Schedule and Completion
The updated schedule for the current project scope provided by the contractor shows completion of all main waterline installation and operation by the end of January. Restoration of impacted curb & gutter, sidewalk, disturbed ground cover will continue through February. The original contract timeline allowed for 450 days from project start date (February 10, 2025) for substantial completion, which is May 6, 2026. While the contractor had hoped for an accelerated timeline to have substantial completion by the end of 2025, it now appears that the project will have substantial completion by March 2026, still ahead of the contractual date of May 6, 2026. NCDOT has scheduled final resurfacing of Main Street and Franklin Street (Hwy. 73) for the spring. Town staff and contract engineers will be meeting with NCDOT soon to discuss the logistics and details of the planned resurfacing.
