WithersRavenel’s multidisciplinary team has worked with the City of Dunn on various projects through the years and continues to help the community address its infrastructure needs. As part of this effort, we worked on a Golden LEAF funding application with Dunn, which was awarded a $500,000 Flood Mitigation Program grant in June for construction to address frequent flooding on Merry Street resulting from inadequate stormwater infrastructure.
WithersRavenel is providing services on the project that will divert the stormwater into new piping to move the water to nearby Juniper Creek and avoid any downstream effects. WithersRavenel had also assisted the City secure an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) planning grant and a Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan for this project.
We have worked with City staff for several years to help identify stormwater mitigation projects that the community needs. In Fall 2022, a $500,000 Construction Funding application was submitted for a project that included the six areas of Merry Street, North Watauga Avenue, North Fayetteville Avenue / East Cole Street Area, East Johnson Street, East Bay Street and South Wilson Avenue, and Juniper Creek under the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments (LASII) program from the North Carolina Department Environmental Quality (DEQ) Division of Water Infrastructure (DWI). The funding amount approved by DWI was $490,340.
In Spring 2023, a $400,000 LASII Planning application was submitted for Merry Street, North Watauga Avenue, East Bay Street and South Wilson Avenue, and Juniper Creek to supplement the funding received from the Fall 2022 application. The requested amount was approved for funding, and it is being allocated for completing the scope of services for the Merry Street and East Bay Street/South Wilson Avenue projects.
Most of the LASII Planning funds have been allocated to the highest priority project for the City. However, the remaining funds were leveraged to provide project management and engineering report/Environmental Impact Document for the Merry Street and East Bay Street/South Wilson Avenue projects, which is a required document for the CWSRF loan.
The Merry Street project consists of the installation of a ditch to convey diverted water into a new stormwater wetland built on Friendly Road, southeast of Merry Street and directly south of Webster Drive. Drainage piping will reroute runoff to a new trunkline along Friendly Road to a discharge point at Juniper Creek.
Learn more about how we can help you find funding sources for your projects. Reach out to WithersRavenel Director of Funding Amanda Whitaker at awhitaker@withersravenel.com or 919-238-0448 to get the conversation started.