Indian Trail council approves amended Complete Street ordinance amid CSX, utility delays

The Indian Trail Town Council voted unanimously to approve an amended ordinance and corresponding budget amendment for the Indian Trail Complete Street Project, council members said during the Oct. 16 meeting.

The vote cleared funding to continue design work and right-of-way actions on the project, which staff warned is on hold in part because CSX requested an updated review and additional consultant work. Todd Hunsinger, a town staff member who presented the update, said the town has received a new CSX request for payment and that the second NCDOT submittal package is on hold pending that work.

Why it matters: The Complete Street project covers traffic signals, sidewalks and utility relocations through the town center; delays and added costs could affect a multi-million-dollar funding and reimbursement agreement with NCDOT and the schedule for related downtown work.

Hunsinger told the council that CSX asked for an updated review after the town submitted its second package and that CSX’s consultant ‘‘want[s] more money,’’ creating a two-month delay while an amended agreement was negotiated. He said NCDOT also returned comments that required coordination, particularly on signal phasing tied to DOT work at Gribble and Matthews-Indian Trail intersections. Hunsinger said the water-main relocation (from the east side of the railroad to the downtown intersection) will be completed first; a gas-main relocation in the same corridor will follow.

Town staff outlined proposed additional design costs and scope changes. In his presentation Hunsinger identified several items that increased consultant fees: additional utility-design work added for the Town Center water-main relocation, added work from a utility subcontractor (Hine Engineering) omitted in an earlier scope, and extra coordination costs for CSX permitting. Hunsinger said the package being presented includes $104,279 requested to move the design phase forward and account for those added tasks.

Staff also restated the project’s funding context: NCDOT has approved reimbursement for a portion of the project and staff reported a $1,180,000 reimbursement approval tied to right-of-way work. Hunsinger told council members the county’s Warren sewer connection is estimated at $1.5 million and the town’s reimbursable share for water/sewer design work is roughly $500,000 — amounts the town will refine when the project is bid.

Council discussion touched on timing and process. Council member Dennis Gay pushed back on claims that sewer or creek locations made the project unbuildable, saying, ‘‘you can move the sewer line. It is done every day.’’ Other council members asked how long the project has been under development; staff said planning and funding discussions date to the late 2010s and that right-of-way and utility issues often extend schedules.

The ordinance amendment and budget amendment as presented were approved by motion; recorded vote counts were not enumerated in the meeting text but the chair announced the motion carried unanimously.

Provenance: Topic introduced during "Old business: Indian Trail Complete Street Project, amended ordinance and budget amendment" and the presentation and vote concluded later in the meeting when council took the motion to approve the amended ordinance and budget amendment.

Ending: Staff said it will circulate pre-construction and right-of-way notices to the council when CSX and NCDOT milestones are set; Hunsinger asked council to expect additional reimbursement and condemnation decisions as the project moves into final design and construction.