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Council hears plan for pavement management and Highway 49, Woodside Drive projects
Summary
Public works and engineering described a new data‑driven pavement-management program, a phased Highway 49 lighting project with NCDOT/Duke Energy coordination, and a proposal to upgrade Woodside Drive (curb, gutter, sidewalks, storm drainage).
John Young, director of public works, and Devin Houston, town engineer, told the council the town will start a pavement‑management program scored with GIS data so residents can see where and when roads will be maintained.
John said the program is intended to stretch available paving dollars farther by combining treatments — rejuvenation, crack sealing, micro‑surfacing and targeted mill‑and‑fill — so smaller budgets preserve pavement life rather than forcing early full resurfacing. He said the draft pavement budget being discussed is about $725,000 and the goal is to get as many lane miles treated as possible rather than repaving fewer miles; as an example he said the town has about 90 miles of streets and seeks a roughly 20‑year cycle on preservation.
Devin and John highlighted two near‑term projects: Highway 49 pedestrian and street‑lighting improvements and Woodside Drive street improvements. The Highway 49 work will require NCDOT permitting and is being coordinated with Duke Energy, which owns the lights along that corridor. The first phase will run from the county line toward Kings Drive and will be implemented in phases, staff said.
The Woodside Drive proposal grew from public feedback saying the corridor lacks consistent pedestrian facilities and storm drainage. The proposed cross‑section presented to council includes two 10‑foot lanes, curb and gutter, storm drainage and a sidewalk on one side. Staff said Woodside was selected because it ties to nearby completed projects and allows coordination of roadway, stormwater and utility work.
John also briefed the council on the town’s transportation capital project fund and showed a five‑year project view that includes grant proceeds; he noted grant awards in recent years have been significant and that many projects now move into construction as grant funds are spent. He said the town has received over $15 million in grant proceeds applied to transportation projects in recent years.
Council members asked about project prioritization; John said pavement‑management decisions will be data‑driven and visible in a public dashboard, while other projects combine grant timing, engineering needs and citizen input to determine sequencing.
