Mount Holly approves resolutions to finance phase two of Kemp A. Michael Way, including pipeline bridge

Mount Holly City Council voted unanimously June 22 to authorize staff to pursue financing for phase two of the Kemp A. Michael Way South Gateway road project, a segment that includes a required bridge across the Colonial Pipeline.

City project presenter Mr. Dupont summarized a nearly 20-year planning effort that began with a 2008 strategic vision and a 2018 traffic study. He said phase one built roughly 900 linear feet of the planned 1,500-foot corridor; phase two is about 600 feet and includes the bridge crossing the pipeline. Dupont said the city previously secured a state revolving fund loan of about $4.7 million for an upstream sewer force main that enabled much of the corridor's recent development.

Dupont told council that rising costs have pushed the phase-two price higher than originally estimated and that staff is seeking loan options to proceed. "We're hopeful that we could get a 10-year period loan, have approximately $750,000 debt service over those 10 years," he said. He said staff aims to complete Local Government Commission review and begin construction by year-end if financing is secured.

Councilmembers questioned whether an alternate alignment that avoids the Colonial Pipeline crossing had been fully explored and whether the pipeline owner could offer cost relief. Mr. Meadows asked specifically whether other routes had been studied; Dupont replied that staff had sought alternatives but could not find a suitable route acceptable to the impacted property owners. Mr. Blandon said staff had reached out to the Colonial Pipeline and to state legislators for assistance, naming Representative Torbett and other delegation contacts, and said the city "continues to explore those options."

After discussion, Councilman Meadows moved and Miss Shoemaker seconded approval of two resolutions that allow staff to pursue financing and move the project forward; the motion passed unanimously. The resolutions authorize staff to continue negotiations, advance design work and seek loan terms for phase two; no roll-call vote count was given in the record.

Next steps identified by staff include continued discussions with Colonial Pipeline and the city's legislative delegation, completion of LGC (Local Government Commission) steps for any loan, and return of additional details to the council as financing terms and responses from pipeline owners are firmed up.