Oct. 26. By Dave Vieser. News that West Catawba Avenue Phase II widening would be done a year sooner, appears to be a false alarm. The project will be completed as planned in 2027, not 2026.

In a newsletter to residents, emailed on Sunday Oct. 24, the town said “one project that has moved up is the West Catawba Avenue widening project. Recently, both the utility relocation and construction dates have been advanced by one year.”

That would have placed completion in 2026.

Herron

However, NCDOT spokesman Aaron Moody said, “the timeline previously given you for this project is still accurate. The project is still scheduled to let in August 2024 and expected to take three years to construct.”

That would place completion in 2027, not 2026.

Deputy Town Manager Wayne Herron concurred. “I did receive the same confirmation from NCDOT that the project would start in 2024 and that they are providing for construction until 2027. We will be adjusting our messages to match.”

Town Manager Andrew Grant said there’s an explanation:

Grant

“NCDOT previously informed the Town that the construction timeframe was 2 years. The previous construction start was 2025. The construction start has recently been accelerated to 2024. NCDOT also indicated this week that they have recently reviewed the construction and are now estimating it will take three years to construct. If not for the accelerated schedule, the actual construction end would have ended up being 2028 rather than the current 2027.”