Town Staff Provides Updates on West Catawba

By Dave Vieser — Much to the chagrin of many residents — and even some town commissioners — the trees lining West Catawba Avenue between Jetton Road and Sam Furr Road must be removed as part of the planned road widening and utility relocation, town officials said during a presentation before the Town Board earlier this week.

That would have been the case whether or not the utility lines along the road were buried underground.

“Even if the town and NCDOT had decided years ago to bury the numerous utility lines on West Catawba, the widening would have still required tree removal,” Deputy Town Manager Cynthia Broomfield said. “Most of the tree removal is needed to make room for the wider four-lane road infrastructure, along with the pedestrian and bikeway paths and sidewalks.”

The 2.7-mile project will widen West Catawba from two to four lanes with center medians and 10-foot-wide sidewalks, called multiuse paths, on both sides of the road. The project width will range from 90 to 200 feet in some areas, including easements.

Cost was another major factor working against burying the utility lines, as was done along West Catawba between I-77 and Jetton Road.

“In today’s dollars, it would cost in excess of $60 million to bury all the utilities along that portion of West Catawba Avenue,” Broomfield said. “And still the trees would have to come down.”

That cost would have to be covered by the town. For comparison, the annual town budget is $40.7 million this year.

Also, if the project were modified, it would be moved down NCDOT’s priority list and likely delayed for years. The project was initially approved more than a decade ago and has faced numerous delays related to state financing issues and reprioritization.

Broomfield said tree removal has occurred in stages because the tree work — topping, removal and stump grinding — is being conducted by different contractors.

The utility work will take roughly one year to complete. New electric poles will be erected in February, and gas line relocation will be completed in the second half of 2027. Contractor bidding will take place next December, with road work scheduled from 2028 to 2030.

Several other details about the project were provided by Broomfield in response to concerns from residents and commissioners:

• Replacement trees will be smaller varieties. Larger, mature trees generally cannot be used to replace older trees because of their extensive root systems, lower survival rates and higher cost.
• No funds generated by the recent sales tax increase can be used for the project. Those funds already have been dedicated to other needs, including police and fire salaries, enhanced telecommunications and debt associated with the parks bond.
• NCDOT said there is a “small amount of funding” for post-construction landscaping and the town said it will continue to discuss options with the state. Town commissioners explored the possibility of having segments of the newly widened road adopted by local civic groups. Discussions about how that could be accomplished are expected to follow.

The widening is expected to increase roadway capacity by two to three times between Jetton Road and Sam Furr Road, Broomfield said.