WILMINGTON — At its last meeting of the year, the Wilmington City Council approved spending millions of dollars to keep city roadways in tiptop shape. The city will resurface 30-plus miles of roads next year, adding to the more than 100 miles already paved in the last four years.
More than 40 streets, or portions of streets, will receive attention from the city’s paving contractor in 2023. About one-quarter are in poor condition; the majority are considered fair, with a handful categorized as good. The ones in better condition are likely receiving a preservation treatment as opposed to a full resurfacing.
The bulk of work is planned for downtown, including Orange, Fanning, Rankin, S. Front and Princess streets — all considered in poor condition. Portions of North 10th through 15th streets, as well as portions of Dock, South 2nd and North 5th, 7th and 8th, are also slated to be either resurfaced or covered with a preservation treatment to extend the life.
According to the city’s street maintenance map, other top hitters scheduled to receive either new asphalt or treatment are College Acres, Government Center, and New Centre drives.
The city owns 400 miles of streets in total, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation is responsible for the remainder, except for some private-owned roads.
While city crews do some in-house paving, it’s on a much smaller scale than what an outside contractor can handle, according to city public services director Dave Mayes.
Council unanimously approved a $5-million addition to a contract with Fayetteville-based Highlands Paving Co. The city hired the company in October 2021 for $6.1 million to pave roadways, with a deadline to complete this year’s work Dec. 11, 2022.
The original contract allows for two one-year extensions, the first of which stormwater division manager Fred Royal requested at the meeting.
“The additional funding is needed to keep the project going,” he told council. “It’s the first of a five-year capital resurfacing contract. We’re looking forward to getting the items we’ve prioritized going.”
Council has also approved four change orders with Highlands throughout 2022, totaling another nearly $500,000.
“This [past] year, the city focused on preservation efforts, which is much cheaper than resurfacing and allowed crews to cover more miles,” city spokesperson Jennifer Dandron said. “In the coming year, the focus will be on resurfacing, which is more expensive. The different techniques cost different amounts. The amount of funding available impacts the number of miles crews can address.”
Last year, Highlands completed more than 136 lane miles — mileage of a road multiplied by the number of lanes (example: a 5-mile, two-lane road would be 10 “lane miles”) — of preservation treatment intended to prolong the life of the roadways. The process provides a smooth surface and prevents further cracking and raveling — when small pieces of asphalt become loose, creating a bumpy road.
Highlands also resurfaced 13.5 miles of street asphalt. Some of the work is still in progress as of Tuesday’s meeting, but most has been completed.
Work was done on portions of downtown, including S. 15th, 14th, 11th, 10th, Meares, Nun, N. Water, and Red Cross streets, as well as N. 5th Avenue. Paving also was completed on River Road, areas at the intersection of Carolina Beach and Shipyard, some areas of the Pine Valley region and Park Avenue, to name a few.
For 2023, paving includes 37 lane miles: 2.3 miles of asphalt street reconstruction (the most costly as crews have to first grind, mill and remove existing asphalt); 18.9 miles of milling and resurfacing; and 15.8 miles preservation treatment.
Projects are prioritized based on a 2012 study, updated in 2015, analyzing the condition of all public roads within city limits. The list was created based on traffic count and pavement condition. Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, stormwater projects, and NCDOT coordinated to minimize costs and the overall impact construction has on residents.
Mayes explained on an informational video on the city’s website that the underground infrastructure is analyzed before road work begins to ensure storm drainage, water and sewer mains are in good shape. This prevents the road from having to be ripped up to make necessary repairs.
The planned paving is part of a five-year infrastructure improvement plan, funded by 5 cents of the city’s property taxes dedicated solely for this use. An initial five-year plan funded $41 million in projects from 2012-2017 based on citizen input.
At the time, 53% of residents stated they were unhappy with current conditions and said the city should spend more on maintenance of streets and sidewalks.
A 2019 survey still showed the top citizen concern being streets and sidewalk maintenance and the management of traffic flow through the city.
The current phase of an infrastructure plan was approved in summer 2017 for $59 million worth of construction projects through 2023. More than half of that will cover street and sidewalk repairs and paving projects, including $31.9 million in street maintenance and rehabilitation, sidewalk construction, bridge repair, and pedestrian and bike improvements.
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