North Mecklenburg News

Town of Stallings issued the following announcement on Sept. 12.

Pleasant Plains Road and Potter Road (P3) Project Summary - As of 09-07-2022

Brief Summary Update:

After many years of collaboration with NCDOT for improvements to the state road intersection of Pleasant Plains Road/Potter Road, the Town Council authorized staff in March 2022 to continue to work with NCDOT to potentially combine the Potter/Pleasant Plains project with the Old Monroe Road project under NCDOT’s administration.  The Town hopes that NCDOT can bring about further cost reductions with greater economies of scale. NCDOT anticipates the let date of the project to be late Spring/early Summer 2023 as long as there are no issues with material shortages.

For a complete history and explanation of the project, please see below.

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The Town executed a municipal agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to administer an intersection improvement project in the Potter Road and Pleasant Plains Road corridor (P3 Project).  This project includes the following components:

• Construction of left turn lanes in each quadrant;
• Pedestrian sidewalk construction;
• Curb and gutter construction;
• Water and sewer improvements;
• Installation of signage, roadway striping, traffic signals and metal traffic signal poles (mast arms); and
• Drainage improvements. 

These improvements will improve mobility, traffic movement efficiency, safety, and assist in potential redevelopment in the area. 

It should be noted that this is a state road under NCDOT jurisdiction and the Town took on the challenge of securing funds, designing the project, and overseeing construction in an attempt to move the construction of this much needed project forward.

Below is the timeline to date for the P3 Project:

• May 25, 2013:  Notice to proceed issued to the design engineer for design, survey and geotechnical work
• October 15, 2013:  25% Design Plans submitted
• January 11, 2014:  NCDOT and Town of Stallings Interlocal Agreement for funding executed
• January 28, 2014:  Union County and Town of Stallings Interlocal Agreement for sewer improvements funding executed
• May 14, 2014:  70% Design Plans submitted
• December 5, 2014:  90% Design Plans submitted
• March 4, 2015 to April 10, 2015:  Design Plan updates
• April 21, 2015 to February 15, 2017:  Utility design coordination and updates based on comments from Union County Public Works
• February 17, 2016:  Right-of-way acquisition approval from NCDOT
• June 28, 2016:  Notice to proceed issued to right-of-way acquisition consultant
• December 19, 2018:  Right-of-way field certification from NCDOT
• November 15, 2018:  100% Design Plans submitted
• March 14, 2019:  100% Design Plans updated (based on NCDOT comments) and submitted
• May 1, 2019:  Updated contract documents based on NCDOT comments
• March 28, 2019:  Right-of-way reimbursement from NCDOT
• May 13, 2019:  Erosion and Sediment Control Permit from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR)
• December 11, 2019:  Duke utility relocations complete
• March 3, 2020:  Spectrum utility relocations complete
• August 2020:  Windstream Utility relocations complete
• April 2020:  Project placed on hold by NCDOT due to anticipated COVID related funding shortfalls
• February 8, 2021:  NCDOT Construction Phase Hold lifted.
• March 26, 2021:  An updated project cost was prepared by the design consultant showing an estimated overage of $3,649,367 beyond the approved reimbursement costs per the interlocal agreements with NCDOT and Union County.

The updated project cost estimate presented a total project cost that has escalated significantly due to current market conditions, right-of-way costs, and other factors.  This updated estimate of cost results in an anticipated gap between the cost of the project and the reimbursement allowance to the Town from NCDOT and Union County that, at $4,279,358.21, is significantly more than what was budgeted by the Town.  To move forward with the project, the Town is required to cover the cost overage in addition to the $491,437 of non-reimbursable expenses paid by the Town to date.  This additional cost, if covered by the Town, would essentially deplete the majority of the Town’s available fund balance reserves.

Since the updated project cost estimate was provided in late March, the Town has been diligent in coordinating a solution to covering the gap between the project cost and the available reimbursement funds.  This effort has been conducted with a three-fold approach as outlined below:

• The Town has been working diligently with NCDOT and the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) to identify and aggressively pursue available funding dollars to help cover the additional project costs.  The Town submitted an application on April 30, 2021 requesting the maximum amount possible of $2,197,110 in additional project funds.   On June 17, 2021, the Town was informed that CRTPO had approved budget shortfall funding in the amount of $2,197,600 which requires an additional 20% Town match of $549,400.
• The Town has been coordinating with state elected officials in an effort to secure additional project funds from other sources.
• The Town has requested that NCDOT provide road repairs at the P3 intersection to address the immediate need for maintenance until construction begins.  On June 21, 2021, NCDOT made some patching to the roadway.  NCDOT believes that a complete resurfacing job would be needed for this intersection at an estimated cost of about $300,000.  NCDOT does not want to spend such a large amount of public monies if the intersection may get ripped up in the next year if construction were to began on the project.  As a result, NCDOT has indicated it will provide those resurfacing funds to help with project costs but patch the intersection in the meantime.

After factoring additional CRTPO budget shortfall funding, the Town’s estimated additional out of pocket cost for this project is $2,081,758.21 including a combined 25% contingency and escalation factor. In contrast, the original 2014 agreement with NCDOT appears to contemplate a local commitment of $400,000 (not including design).        

Original source can be found here.