The Town held its monthly project update with contract engineers and utility contractors for the waterline project on Wednesday, January 28. 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.
Installation Process
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 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.
Road and Lane Closure Requirements
The utility contractor must follow NCDOT requirements for encroachment and work within a state-maintained right-of-way. NCDOT Division 10 required the closure of W. Franklin Street from Halifax Street to Main Street. NCDOT Division 10 has not permitted lane closures on E. Franklin Street during higher traffic times of day and is limiting lane closure and work times to 8:30am to 4:30pm each day. NCDOT Division 10 does not permit lane closures and work within the right-of-way on state holidays, so even though State Utility was working on Monday, January 19, they were not permitted to work on E. Franklin Street. They have also not been permitted to work the days before or after major holidays like Thanksgiving. They are also not permitted to flag or work on roadways that are wet from precipitation.
Below is a summary of the status of each segment of the project. The chart and map at the end of this update show the status of each segment of the project.
N. Main Street (including Crestwood and Cook Street)
On N. Main Street between North Drive and Hwy. 73 (Franklin Street), waterline installation, pressure testing, certification, and tie-ins are complete, and the line is active. Flowable fill and asphalt patch are complete. Final restoration of impacted sidewalk, curb, and pavement will be completed upon installation of all lines.
S. Main Street
Waterline installation on S. Main Street between Hwy. 73 (Franklin St.) and Lee Street is complete, pressure tested, and certified. Flowable fill and asphalt patch are complete. Weather permitting, tie-ins to Lee Street and Barringer Drive are scheduled for the first week of February. This will result in service interruptions of 3-5 hours for customers on Lee Street and Barringer Drive. Final restoration of impacted sidewalk, curb, and pavement will be completed upon installation of all lines.
Hwy. 49
Waterline installation on Hwy. 49 between N. Main Street and Hwy. 73 is complete and pressure tested. Certification has been completed. Service tie-ins are scheduled for the first week of February. Sidewalk restoration has been completed.
E. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73)
In early September 2025, a crew began working on installation of the new 12-inch waterline on E. Franklin Street from Main Street to Blueberry Street. Main waterline installation has been completed. Asphalt patch was completed during the week of January 19, ahead of the ice storm. Testing and tie-ins are scheduled through February.
W. Franklin Street (Hwy. 73)
Waterline installation on W. Franklin Street between Halifax Street and Main Street is complete, pressure tested, and certified. During the week of January 19 crews completed service tie-ins for each customer along W. Franklin St. On January 29 and January 30, crews will be doing tie-ins for side streets at Halifax, Summer, Hillside, and College Streets. This will result in service interruptions on S. Halifax Street, Summer Street, Hillside Drive, New Street, Ludwig Street, Ridge Avenue, S. College Street and a portion of N. College Street for 3-5 hours for each of the four tie-ins. Weather permitting, the tie-ins for Skyland Drive, Page Street, and Eagle Street are scheduled for the first week of February, which will also result in service interruptions for customers located on those streets for 3-5 hours. Flowable fill was installed in the trench between Halifax Street and College Street. As required by NCDOT, the trench was filled ABC stone and fabric between College Street and Main Street. The winter weather delayed completion of asphalt patch. The contractor is waiting on temperatures above 40 degrees for a couple of days and for NCDOT to authorize completion of the asphalt patch. As soon as this is done, the road can be reopened.
(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.)
Overall Project Schedule and Completion
The updated schedule for the current project scope provided by the contractor shows completion of all main waterline installation by the end of January. Final tie-ins, line operation, 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 with only punch list items remaining. This is 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.
