LENOIR, NC (December 10, 2021) — The City of Lenoir City Council approved a bid to replace more than 3,800 feet of sewer line that runs from Mayflower Seafood Restaurant to the Lenoir Golf Club parking lot.
Public Utilities Director Radford Thomas said the project will replace an old 12-inch sewer pipe with a new 20-inch pipe. The section between Mayflower Seafood Restaurant and the golf course is one of the City’s main sewer lines. The project will also replace about 20 manholes and reconnect all sewer services tied to the main line. The new 20-inch pipe will connect to an existing 24-in line at the golf course. The 24-inch runs to the City’s Lower Creek Wastewater Treatment plant.
“Replacing this old sewer main will allow for more volume and help reduce inflow and infiltration (I&I) into the sewer system,” Director Thomas said. “When you have I&I, you have the risk of sewer overflows in certain locations during heavy rains, and you spend money to treat rain water, which isn’t efficient.”
The project will also build a new eight-inch sewer line from Tidal Wave Car Wash along Wilkesboro Boulevard and Linkside Court to the Viridian Apartments. The new eight-inch line will connect to an existing sewer line at Viridian. The new line will allow staff to decommission an old sewer line that runs from Wilkesboro Boulevard under Smith Crossroads along Harper Ave.
Decommissioning the old line that runs under Smith Crossroads will prevent the need to repair sewer pipe in that intersection in the future, and it will prevent the need for the city to relocate that line if and when the North Carolina Department of Transportation makes improvements to the intersection.
“Adding the new line along Wilkesboro Boulevard and Linkside Court will get quite a bit of sewer pipe out from under the highway,” Director Thomas said. “The less pipe you have under highways and major intersections, the better. It can be hard to repair lines in those areas if you have a problem.”
Taking the old line that runs under Smith Crossroads out of service will also make it easier for the City to connect the greenway via the Harper Avenue bridge across Lower Creek. City staff hopes to connect the greenway that currently ends at Westbrook Street NW to the greenway at Mulberry Recreation Center. The new greenway section would go under the Lower Creek bridge on Harper Avenue. Removing the sewer line in that area will help facilitate that connection in the future.
The city estimates the project will cost $2.8 million. Carolina Grading and Utilities, Inc. of Jefferson, NC, had the low bid for construction. The City will fund the project with a $2,775,000 loan from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Infrastructure and $55,500 in local dollars. The loan has a 2.16% interest rate over 20 years. A 2% loan fee is also required. Due to the unknowns associated with other utilities in the construction area, Council also approved a 10% construction contingency fund of $190,800.00.
Replacing the sewer line has been on the department’s capital improvement project list for many years.
Staff hopes Carolina Grading and Utilities, Inc. will start the project in mid-January, once the project has final approval from the state. The contractors will have roughly nine months to finish the job once they start.
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