While 2024 brought an unimaginably difficult ending (looking at you, Helene), still much was accomplished. From accessible sidewalks to public restrooms to playgrounds, the City of Asheville continues to invest in the quality of life for our community. Read on to find out about infrastructure improvements made throughout the city in 2024 and what’s in store for 2025.
The City of Asheville experienced an estimated $1 billion in damage to City-owned property and assets due to Helene. This includes extensive damage to City-owned parks, streets, buildings, utilities, and other vital assets and infrastructure. Rebuilding will be a massive feat, and this is not something the City of Asheville can do on its own. Federal and state funding will be crucial in order to restore our beloved public spaces, and the City has been working since October 2024 to begin the process of rebuilding.
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Note: The lists of projects throughout this article are not comprehensive. There are several active projects not shown; the projects included here are intended to summarize important milestones.
Celebrating Progress in 2024
Below is a snapshot of milestones related to infrastructure and capital projects in the 2024 calendar year. Despite the historic impacts of Helene, the City of Asheville continues to move forward with fulfilling project commitments and meeting future needs.
Projects completed in 2024:
Construction kicked off in 2024 for the following projects:
Other milestones in 2024:
- Water service restored with reconnection of 36-inch bypass water main: On September 27, 2024, Tropical Storm Helene hit Asheville, dropping record amounts of rainfall that led to catastrophic flooding and damage to the region. Water distribution from the City of Asheville’s Bee Tree and North Fork reservoirs came to a halt when water infrastructure was washed out, leaving customers without water service for weeks. In an incredible feat, the 36-inch bypass water main was reconnected on October 10, 2024, allowing water to once again flow from North Fork Reservoir to water customers. Typically a project of this magnitude would take almost one year to complete. With City staff, personnel from water systems across North Carolina and local contractors T&K Utilities, TP Howard and Tennoca Construction working tirelessly, the bypass was completed and the most heavily damaged portions of the distribution system were repaired in 10 days. Turbidity in the North Fork reservoir continued to be a hurdle in the following month, and again, City staff and contractors including the Army Corps of Engineers worked tirelessly to remedy the unprecedented issue. The city-wide Boil Water Advisory was lifted on November 18, 2024.
- An estimated 2,000 trees were cleared from the roadway by Public Works crews immediately following the storm.
- Voters approve $80 million in General Obligation Bonds: The passage of the 2024 Bond Referendums will help fund key prioritized improvements in affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, public safety facilities, and parks and recreation facilities.
- 583 potholes were filled on City streets by Public Works crews.
- 45 sidewalk ramps were added or updated to meet ADA compliance.
- 3.43 miles of roadway were resurfaced.
- 3,147 feet of stormwater pipe was newly installed or replaced.
Looking Ahead to 2025
Moving into 2025, City staff recognize it is more important than ever to use a strategic approach for project development supported by good planning and strong communication in order to achieve alignment and coordination of previous project commitments with storm recovery needs. The City is working to keep active capital project schedules on track in addition to planning for recently approved General Obligation Bond projects. Projects in areas that were not impacted by the storm and where construction would not inhibit economic recovery are generally moving forward.
Capital projects to kick off construction in 2025:
Bond project activities expected to begin in 2025:
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- Design for Oakley Public Safety Facility Improvements
- Preliminary scoping and site selection for North Asheville Fire Station
- Design and construction for West Asheville Police Station Renovations
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- Community engagement and design for Malvern Hills Park and Pool
- Community engagement and design for Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center Upgrades
- Transportation
- Street resurfacing
- Community engagement and design for Lexington Avenue Pedestrian Improvements
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- Tune in for an update to City Council on implementation of the Affordable Housing Plan on January 28, 2025, which can be streamed on the City’s YouTube channel. This update will include details on how Affordable Housing Bond funding will be leveraged to increase the availability of affordable housing in our community.
Storm Recovery efforts:
Cost recovery through FEMA’s Public Assistance program will be the main source of funding enabling the City to rebuild City-owned infrastructure. This process is underway, and in the meantime the City is implementing safety measures and making temporary repairs to roads, parks, and buildings wherever possible. The City is working with FEMA to begin official damage assessments in early 2025. Storm related infrastructure impacts will be the focus of City Council’s January 23, 2025 Storm Recovery Briefing, which can be streamed on the City’s YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more information on storm recovery. Lastly, the Asheville Recovers Engagement Hub provides updates on the City of Asheville’s recovery process and a place for community members to join the conversation in the aftermath of Helene.
More Information About Capital Projects
What is a capital project? Capital projects traditionally take the form of large-scale physical developments, such as buildings, streets and other infrastructure. However, a wide range of other projects also qualify for capital funding consideration, such as firefighting apparatus, fleet replacement and computer software.
Funding:
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP), part of the City’s annually adopted budget, is where funding is committed to specific capital projects in the form of a long term plan. Capital projects are funded with a mix of internal City resources and external resources listed below.
- Operating Budget: Capital projects can be funded using cash as part of the regular operating budget (often referred to as “pay-as-you-go”).
- Debt: The City utilizes several different types of debt to fund capital projects, including the voter approved General Obligation Bonds in 2016 and 2024 which help fund key prioritized improvements in pre-determined categories. In 2024 voters approved four GO Bonds totaling $80 million, split equally among affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, public safety facilities, and parks and recreation facilities.
- Federal and State Funds: Federal and State funds are a typical mechanism for funding capital projects and are often in the form of grants. Federal funds will be the primary source of Helene recovery funds.
- Grants: The City seeks to maximize funding resources by applying for grants, where possible. These are competitive awards from various organizations, foundations, or government agencies.
- Partnerships: Collaborations with other entities (like private companies or other government agencies) can provide funding or in-kind contributions.
Project Selection:
The City of Asheville has more demand for infrastructure projects than it has funds and staff capacity to execute them, which is why strategically sequencing projects is important. The City identifies potential capital improvement projects using technical assessments of infrastructure condition and need, as well as public input.
Projects are evaluated and prioritized based upon many criteria. The following are several of the key criteria:
- public safety
- economic growth and sustainability
- affordable housing and community development
- quality of life
- availability of outside funding sources
- equity
Regardless of the funding makeup, all capital projects go through a similar process once funding is committed. Most projects that involve infrastructure or construction still have several steps to go between when the project is put on the books and when you’ll see shovels hit the ground.
Planning phase: In this phase city departments work together with the community to solidify the vision as well as to identify concerns about the project.
Design phase: Staff works to design a project that achieves the original goal while reflecting the community’s views in balance with feasibility. This is the most technical phase and, depending on the project, includes complexities such as right of way acquisition, utility relocation and multiple levels of review, which can cause setbacks to the original timeline.
Construction phase: Once the construction contract is approved by City Council, construction can begin! The City will be in touch with neighbors to talk about what to expect during construction. Just like any construction project, we often experience delays during the construction phase due to weather, unexpected discoveries, or supply chain and labor shortages.