Council hears sewer project costs 76% above 2023 estimate; staff outlines phased approach

Public Works Director Brant Sikes told the Marion City Council on June 2 that 30 percent design plans are complete for three sewer alignments funded under Session Law 2023-134 and that the Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) for the largest alignment — East Oak Street to Spring Street — is 76 percent higher than the original 2023 estimate. He said the City’s approved funding for the program totals $5,278,180 for sewer and $631,820 for water, excluding NCDEQ administrative fees.

Sikes identified general construction inflation, an NCDOT requirement for full-depth pavement repair (estimated at about $400,000 for East Court Street), and a jack-and-bore operation under the railroad (estimated at $720,000 plus roughly $100,000 in railroad fees) as the primary drivers of the increase. He recommended proceeding with the Finley Road Lift Station rehabilitation as planned and completing design engineering for all three alignments so the City will have shovel-ready plans when additional funding becomes available. For the East Oak–Spring Street alignment, Sikes recommended bidding the project and constructing as much as available funding allows — estimating 60–80 percent could be completed — and postponing, but not canceling, the South Garden and West Henderson (Drexel property) alignments.

Mayor Stephen Little asked whether the City could negotiate NCDOT pavement requirements; Sikes said engineers have discussed reducing the requirement to a single-lane mill-and-fill but that NCDOT had not yet agreed and that any savings would not fully close the funding gap. The Council did not take further formal action on the overall program during the meeting; staff later presented and the Council approved Amendment No. 2 to the engineering agreement to add easement acquisition assistance for the gravity sewer work.