LUMBERTON — The closed portion on Carthage Road, which is included in the Tanglewood Drainage Project could reopen sometime next week, according to the city’s Public Works director.

As part of the stormwater drainage project, an outfall pipe on Carthage Road will send stormwater from the Tanglewood area into the Lumber River. Work began in July 2021 to place piping in the area of 27th Street near UNC Health Southeastern’s hospital. Because of construction, an area on Carthage Road was closed.

“Hopefully, we’ll have Carthage Road back open next week,” said Rob Armstrong, Lumberton City Public Works director.

Detours went into effect Jan. 3 for the area near Velcord Drive on Carthage Road to remain in place until Feb. 25.

However, delays in the project have caused the detour and project end dates to shift.

The project was to end in July, but Armstrong told The Robesonian in January that the date could be pushed to August.

Armstrong said this week the project is to conclude in August or “possibly the first of September.”

Delays

“Most of the delays are gonna be due to material delivery,” Armstrong said.

Crews also discovered a junction box at Riverside Boulevard and Carthage Road. Workers knew there was a pipe that turned in the area, but did not know of the box’s location. Thus, workers had to find what the box was connected to.

But, the box doesn’t appear to be a problem in the project, he said.

Workers also had to temporarily cap old, cast iron waterlines, which then needed replacement because of their condition, he said. The pipes took a day and a half to repair.

The drainage project faced delays early on because of weather conditions and material shortages, according to Armstrong.

Time

Once the project advances beyond the Carthage Road area next week, Armstrong plans for the “slow going” project to make more advancements toward the finish line.

Materials beyond 23rd Street are “more standard and not custom made,” Armstrong said.

“Hopefully, we can make up some time,” he said.

Future

The city is working on mapping its water and sewer systems, but plans to map its stormwater system could be expensive, Armstrong said.

The project’s scope is mapped, but mapping the entire stormwater system is not a priority compared to the other systems, he said.

Some systems were previously mapped in logbooks, he said.

Those plans contained outdated markers to refer to portions of piping, Armstrong said. As roads were changed and updated, those maps and markers became obsolete.

Project

Armstrong told The Robesonian in July 2021 that improving access to the hospital during periods of heavy rain is one of the project’s primary objectives. The Tanglewood area is prone to flooding during periods of heavy rain because of poor stormwater drainage. The project, once completed will greatly improve drainage in the area, and as a result, will improve the flow of stormwater in surrounding areas.

The construction contract for the Tanglewood project was awarded to Terrahawk LLC, which was the low bidder at $8,502,294.18, during a May 12, 2021 Lumberton City Council meeting. The contract price is to be paid using funds received in a $3 million Golden LEAF grant and a $6.8 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant.

The city was awarded the $3 million Golden LEAF grant in 2017, months after Hurricane Matthew hit Robeson County, but the project was put on hold in September 2019 after having been awarded to Metcon Construction, which self-reported a “significant error” in its bid. The city then sought additional funding for the project, and was awarded the $6.8 million EDA grant in April 2020.

After a monthslong approval process, City Manager Wayne Horne informed City Council on March 17, 2021 that EDA had given the city approval to move forward with the project.