Council hears details on Riverwalk Greenway funding and local cost exposure

Gabe Johnson, Division 13 project manager, and NCDOT staff briefed the council on the Riverwalk Greenway project, explaining the A section (sidewalk and bike improvements along Sutton Avenue, Vance and Black Mountain Avenue) and the B section (continuing shared-road bike improvements and connections to Oaks Greenway). "So the Riverwalk Greenway really is one of those projects. It was funded really through the MPO and as Tristan was talking about the discretionary funds that they have," Johnson said.

Johnson said federal funding for the A section is roughly $1.4 million with local matches that create an approximate available total of $1.7 million, and that preliminary engineering is about 75% complete. He told councilors that right-of-way and utility phases are largely finished for parts of the A section but that construction has not started. Asked how much the town might be on the hook for, Johnson and staff described an 80/20 funding split and noted that "the very least you would... pay out of pocket... would be in that 4, $466,000 mark," while cautioning final exposure could be higher depending on construction estimates and federal reimbursements.

Council members pressed for clearer accounting of what has been spent and what will be reimbursed; staff agreed to follow up with line-item figures and to coordinate with the town and MPO on next steps prior to committing to construction.