LUMBERTON — Motorists using Elm Street through the end of next week will have to drive around machinery and crews engaged in laying a new surface on the road that connects downtown Lumberton with the busy Roberts Avenue.

The city’s resurfacing project will stretch from Roberts Avenue to 24th Street, said Robert Armstrong, city Public Works director. The work began Thursday and should be finished by June 21, barring bad weather.

“We should be wrapping it up Thursday or Friday,” Armstrong said.

At no time should all the traffic lanes be blocked, he said.

“The goal is to keep two-way traffic going,” Armstrong said.

Side access to businesses will be affected only when the milling machine passes by the entrances, he said. Traffic control will be in place at all times.

Project leaders have spoken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center administrators and first-responders about access to the hospital by emergency vehicles, he said. The plan is to reroute first-responders down Rowland Avenue. On the other side of the road is Biggs Park Mall.

“We’re using a DOT pre-bid contract because it involves some complexities, like milling the road surface,” Armstrong said.

Milling is the process of grinding down sections of road surface that are damaged and need to be removed.

The work is being done by Barnhill Contractor, which has an office and asphalt plant on Old Whiteville Road in Lumberton.

The milling work on Elm Street to 24th Street started Thursday and will continue Friday and Monday, Armstrong said. The milling will be done in sections. Between 60% to 70% of the section of Elm between Roberts and 24th will be milled. The milling will not be done across the entire width of Elm at any one time.

Barnhill will start laying the new road surface once the milling is finished, he said. A new surface will be placed across the entire width of the affected section of Elm.

The project is estimated to cost the city about $160,000. It is a unit-based contract, which means the final bill will depend on how much asphalt is placed.

The money comes from the state’s Powell Fund, which is funded by the state’s gasoline tax.

“We’re paying for this out of our gas tax funds,” Armstrong said.

The Powell Bill dictates how the state divides tax dollars collected through the sale of gasoline. A formula is used to calculate how much each municipality receives.

Lumberton receives about $600,000 a year in Powell Bill funds, he said.

School bus routes may have to be adjusted around the work zone. Tanglewood Elementary School is nearby.

“Regretfully, we couldn’t delay this until after school ended,” Armstrong said.

The project involves specialized work that requires the use of the milling machine, he said. The machine was in the Lumberton area for only a brief period of time.

The project was first approved by City Council back in September, he said. But Hurricane Florence, which struck in September, caused a delay and then there was the winter shut-down period, when road resurfacing become impractical because of the weather.

“This was the first chance we’ve had to get back on milling contracts,” Armstrong said.

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T.C. Hunter

Managing editor

Reach T.C. Hunter by calling 910-816-1974 or via email at [email protected].