A plan to help add jobs to the region through improving infrastructure on U.S. 421 just got a big boost from a state bond initiative.
Local officials and business leaders say extending water and sewer along U.S. 421, a project expected to cost more than $16 million, will likely bring in industry and create higher-paying jobs. In a measure that helps them achieve that goal, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced late Thursday afternoon that Cape Fear Public Utility Authority received the $16.45 million in funding it had applied for under the Connect NC Bond Act of 2015 for restoration and replacement projects.
Receiving bond money for those projects allows CFPUA "to shift funds that would have gone to specific restoration work and focus it on forward-thinking projects like the construction of services along the U.S. 421 Corridor," according to a statement from CFPUA, which must match the Connect NC money. The Connect NC money will go specifically for a list of CFPUA needs: seven pump stations and associated force means that are reaching the end of their useful lives, presenting safety and flooding concerns; preventative repair of sewer mains that are 40 years old and older located under main roads; and an asset inventory and assessment project to analyze sewer infrastructure in historic downtown Wilmington.
“The funding will help us accomplish several goals. It will bolster our existing infrastructure, add to our ability to protect the environment, and allow us to move forward with new construction in support of our area’s economic development," said Jim Flechtner, CFPUA executive director, in a news release.
He thanked Sen. Michael Lee, R-Wilmington, for his strong support of CFPUA's application. The CFPUA Board must approve of the use of cash reserves to match the $16.45 million granted by the state, and discussion of the matter is expected at the panel's next meeting on Feb. 8, according to the release.
“This funding is just another example of how CFPUA and our stakeholders at the county and state levels come together to resolve important infrastructure issues for the betterment of our community,” said Mike Brown, CFPUA board chairman, in the release. “The opportunity to apply grant funding to the repair and replacement of aging infrastructure frees up resources for the construction of new services which will help boost our local economy.”
The U.S. 421 project, which would extend water and sewer along the corridor from the Isabel Holmes Bridge to the Pender County line, is expected to take three years to complete.
New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chairman Woody White, who also worked on securing the funding from Connect NC, called CFPUA's announcement "a game changer for the entire community."
"The possibilities for job creation and economic development are enormous," he said. "For decades, our region has worked hard to find a way to get basic infrastructure up the 421 corridor. The day has finally arrived, and it is a truly outstanding win for the greater Wilmington area."
To members of the business community, the importance of that infrastructure to what is considered the last major industrial land in New Hanover County can’t be overstated.
“That is the growth corridor and it offers up regional partnerships with Pender County and other counties,” said Tyler Newman, president and CEO of Business Alliance for a Sound Economy, a business advocacy group. “And it ties into the area along the port. It really builds on a lot of the strengths that we have. It’s just critically important, that infrastructure piece, and building on that so we can continue to draw investment and jobs to the region.”
In April last year, county officials approved a $2.1 million capital project to design, permit and acquire rights of way for the extension of water and sewer service along the U.S. 421 corridor.
In September, CFPUA awarded the $1.5 million design contract to Kansas-based engineering firm Black & Veatch. The design and permitting work is scheduled to be completed in July, according to CFPUA.
In scenarios presented by county staff in 2015, leaving U.S. 421 as is would likely result in the creation of less than 250 jobs, while an optimistic estimate with the infrastructure in place showed a result of more than 3,000, many of them at higher salaries.
A legacy of the former governor, Pat McCrory, Connect NC bond funding has also been allocated in the Wilmington area for projects at the University of North Carolina Wilmington ($66 million for the school’s new Allied Health and Human Sciences Building), Brunswick Community College ($2.9 million), Cape Fear Community College ($5.9 million), Fort Fisher State Recreation Area ($1.1 million) and Carolina Beach State Park ($855,000).
Statewide, the Connect NC bond will involve $2 billion for projects in 76 counties, with nearly $1 billion going to the University of North Carolina system. More than $300 million was earmarked for water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the state.
