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Blowing Rock Mayor Shares Updates on Sunset Drive Revitalization Project

Note: Blowing Rock Mayor Charlie Sellers will be providing the High Country Press with news and updates on projects in Blowing Rock. This week, Mayor Sellers provided us with an update on the construction project that is about to begin on Sunset Drive.

TOWN OF BLOWING ROCK SUNSET DR. STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
 
1. Project Inclusions? The project general extends from Valley Boulevard to Main Street, and includes replacement of existing water and sewer lines, minor drainage improvements, replacement of sidewalks and curb/gutter, removal and placing of selected street trees, and new roadway asphalt.
 
2. Construction Begins? Construction is to begin the week of April 1, 2019 and anticipated to be complete by November 2019.
 
3. Construction Sequence? The first step will be installation of new sewer lines in the west bound lane from the stream near First Baptist, west to Main Street. The next step will be water line installation along the north shoulder of the road from Valley Boulevard to Ransom Street, then along the east bound lane to Main Street. Drainage work will follow water and sewer work, then curbing and sidewalks will be replaced/installed in sections along the route. Paving will then proceed followed by landscaping.
 
4. Partial Street Closing? One lane of the street will be closed during active construction (anticipated from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday thru Friday). The contractor will provide traffic control during these closures to provide two-way traffic flow. During non-working hours, the road will be open.
 
5. Water & Sewer Service Disruptions? Customer’s water service will only be planned for outage during re-connection from the new line to the existing service, which generally takes only a few hours. However, during a major construction project, unexpected things happen that could cause emergency conditions and other outages. Sewer service should not be disrupted during the project.
 
6. Business Customer Access During Construction? Sidewalk replacement will be coordinated with businesses, trying to take advantage of days that businesses are closed. However, there are steps that require removal of the existing sidewalk and pouring of new sidewalks. The contractor will assist in providing temporary access as needed and expediting the day or so of this process.
 
7. Parking? While some parking will be disrupted during the construction process, the design has been prepared to retain nearly all of the parking spaces that currently exist along Sunset.
 
8. Who do we contact with questions and how do we get schedule updates? McGill Associates have prepared a project website that will be accessed through the Town’s website (www.townofblowingrocknc.gov) to provide a schedule – updated weekly. This website also contains a page to email questions or comments.