Bond projects move forward
Oct. 16—HIGH POINT — Most city general obligation bond projects approved by voters in 2019 are still in the planning stages, with one exception.
Construction on City Lake Park renovations to the pool and gym started in May. It's among $21.5 million designated for park projects in the bond package.
General contractor Samet Corp. is managing the construction, with the goal of completing the project by Memorial Day 2022, Parks and Recreation Director Lee Tillery said.
"Samet is doing a wonderful job. I feel good about what the final product's going to look like," he said.
Parts of the park date to the 1930s. Officials expected to encounter some construction challenges in digging up the pool and found that, in a 1960s renovation, new concrete was layered on top of the existing floor.
"We didn't know it until we started digging. We did not anticipate all of that concrete that had to be removed from the site," Tillery said. "That added three weeks to the scope of the project. That's been our biggest challenge so far, our biggest surprise so far."
The other parks bond project is a new senior center. Officials have started looking at possible locations but have not yet chosen a site. The city has a five-year lease with High Point University to use its Oak Hollow Community Center as a temporary site for senior programming.
Among the $22 million of transportation bond projects, the realignment of about 1,800 feet of Washington Street in front of Penn-Griffin School for the Arts is the first one targeted for construction, possibly in the late spring or summer of 2022.
This project will shift the road away from the steep banks along the railroad, where erosion has been a concern.
The North Carolina Railroad Co., which owns and manages the tracks, has committed $3 million to stabilize the slopes in the area.
Three existing pedestrian bridges over the tracks in this general area will be retained, city Transportation Director Mark McDonald said.
The widening of Burton Road from behind the Food Lion on Westchester Drive to the Davidson County line is targeted for construction in fall 2022 and will add sidewalks on both sides, as well as bike lanes and drainage improvements.
"It will make things much safer for pedestrians and the public that lives in that area," McDonald said.
The Triangle Lake Road widening is targeted for a construction date of fall 2023. It will upgrade the road between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Hickory Chapel Road, with the goal of making it safer for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.
McDonald said the city is preparing to enter into a contract with an outside consultant to design the project, which should take a year to 18 months to complete.
The bond package included $6.5 million from the city to support the High Point Housing Authority's redevelopment of the former Daniel Brooks Homes public housing complex, which is underway.
pkimbrough@hpenews.com — 336-888-3531
