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Huntersville public works flags Powell Bill shortfall, urges supplement to speed street paving
Summary
Public works told the planning retreat Powell Bill funding can’t keep pace with the town’s growing street network and recommended supplementing state dollars so the town can resurface about 10 miles a year instead of the historical 5–7.
Huntersville public works leaders told the town’s 2025 planning retreat that state Powell Bill allocations are not keeping pace with the town’s growing mileage of streets, and recommended using additional local dollars to raise annual paving from the historical 5–7 miles to roughly 10 miles.
The recommendation follows a town analysis showing the most recent Powell Bill allocation to Huntersville at about $2,154,000 and the cost to mill, patch and resurface 1 mile of roadway at roughly $270,000 — about $50,000 to mill, $45,000 to patch the worst 10 percent of a mile and about $175,000 to place two inches of new asphalt. Public works estimated it would cost about $66 million to resurface every town-owned street at once.
The shortfall arises because the town now maintains roughly 244 miles of streets and the Powell Bill amount does not grow fast enough to maintain an acceptable resurfacing cycle. At current funding levels and reserving 15 percent of Powell Bill dollars for signs and vegetation management, public works said the town’s resurfacing cycle would be about 36 years. Increasing annual paving to about 10–11 miles a year — which public works said would reduce the cycle to roughly 25 years — requires supplementing Powell Bill funds. Staff cited a recent resurfacing contract of about $3.5 million and recommended budgeting additional local funds to sustain a 10-plus mile annual paving program.
Public works director Kevin (Public Works Director) and Steven (Engineering Director) emphasized the economy-of-scale savings the town gets by packaging larger resurfacing contracts; smaller work packages typically cost more per mile. Both also warned the overall cost of projects has risen substantially in recent years and cited statewide construction-delivery cost increases reported at roughly 70 percent over the last 4–5 years.
Staff noted practical constraints beyond money: right-of-way needs, utility relocations and contractor scheduling all add time and cost. The board did not take formal action during the retreat; staff sought direction for the FY26 budget process and said a formal recommendation — including proposed supplemental amounts — would appear with the budget.
