
SURF CITY — The coastal town is planning to spend $1.5 million to pave more than two miles of island roads damaged by Hurricane Florence last year.
The company is contracting S.T. Wooten, the same asphalt and concrete plant that is supplying sand for the town’s current berm reconstruction project, to excavate and pave the selected roadways.
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Town council will vote on Tuesday for $1,555,067 to be appropriated from the town’s general fund balance to pay for the project. The funds come from the town’s allocation from the state’s Powell Fund, which is distributed to cities and towns to assist them in maintaining, constructing, repairing, and improving streets and public thoroughfares.

The project will focus on a roughly 1.3-mile stretch of island roads on the ocean side of New River Drive, the southernmost of which is approximately a mile north of the Surf City Bridge’s entrance onto the island.
These include roads running the length of the island — North Shore Drive and North Topsail Drive — and the smaller roads connecting North Shore Drive to Highway 210.
The approximate cost of $1,555,067 is based on the asphalt price of $373.50 per ton for the month of April 2017, according to an agenda of Tuesday’s council meeting.
Further details such as the expected timing of the project are unclear as the town hall was closed for Thanksgiving break late Wednesday morning.
The most expensive component of the project is the 1.28-mile stretch of North Shore Drive between Mecklenburg Avenue and just beyond 9th Street, estimated at $745,578.
Council will also vote on $60,000 for the “unexpected replacement of the roof ” at the town’s Welcome Center, also coming from the town’s general fund balance.
