BY RON SMITH

Sometimes, progress is ugly, and inconvenient, and frustrating, and expensive. Right now, one does not have to drive or walk far in Statesville to come across a project and use one of those adjectives (or others that can’t be printed here!). However, these projects are currently moving our city forward and addressing needs that will make Statesville better in the future. I want to take some time to ask you to “pardon our mess” as we address some of our city’s biggest needs.

The sinkhole at West Front Street and Tradd Street. Yes, it has taken longer than expected, and yes, it is ugly, inconvenient, frustrating and expensive. However, it is necessary. Statesville has been plagued by sinkholes since I became city manager seven years ago. It is no one’s fault; Statesville is an older city with older infrastructure, and we are certainly not alone in this. Over time, cavities form and until they emerge at the surface, they are invisible. In fact, we put $200,000 in emergency funds in this year’s city budget to address emerging sinkholes. Many times, when digging out to fix the problem, more are found, as has been the situation in this case. The bottom line is that the sinkhole will be fixed, and traffic and business will return to normal. Inevitably, there will be more, and I just ask for your patience.

Right next door to the sinkhole is the construction site for the Police Department expansion. This project is a public-private partnership with DELCO Partners. It will include a major expansion that will bring the entire SPD under one roof. This project also includes a 300-space parking deck and roughly 125 market-rate apartments. Downtown parking may be impacted for a time, but hopefully that will be minimal. This project is slated to be completed in mid-2027.

The biggest — and perhaps the most disruptive — project that the city has going is the waterline “Spline” project. This is a $23 million water line replacement that begins at the water plant on Pump Station Road and will end in the very southern end of town. The city was fortunate to get a major grant from the State of North Carolina — thanks to our local legislative delegation — to pay for most of the project. The planning alone took over a year, and we are now in the construction phase. The first real action was in the form of a bore under Interstate 40 between Gaither Road and Brookdale Drive. Quite a bore, indeed. We hope to complete this project in September of 2026, but until then there will be periodic street closures and some potential impacts on water service. 

We are in the final stages of our annual street resurfacing project. Each year the city is allocated money from the state to pave streets. We use a ranking system to identify which streets are the “worst” and systematically move down the list. As with the sinkholes, we have started adding money to this fund, again $200,000, as the state allocations alone do not allow us keep up with the needs. This year was the first time I am aware of that this was done, and based on our street conditions we may have to continue this practice.

Over the last several years the city has been putting more money into its existing parks. This year we are renovating Kimbrough Park, which is located on Greenbriar Road, by replacing the playground, building a shelter, and building a new sidewalk. Previously, Harris Park, Bristol Road Park, the Soccer Complex, and Caldwell Park have all seen upgrades. We have also contracted recently with a company that will address all of the city’s park ponds for water quality and appearance. Finally, the greenway has taken some abuse as of late due to erosion and sediment. We will begin addressing those sections as soon as the street resurfacing project is complete.

The city recently purchased land for our next fire station. Statesville currently has four stations. Station #5 will be located at the corner of Gaither Road and Museum Road, just north of I-40. Plans for construction are not imminent, but it has been extremely important to obtain the property in preparation for this project. The location will fill a need that spans from N.C. 115 on the western side to U.S. 21 on the east. We are currently analyzing an existing structure on the property to use as a temporary location while funds are identified for a bigger construction project.

Residents will also be dealing with the outcomes from projects that are NOT going to be happening any time soon. The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has recently informed the city that the U.S. 21 corridor widening project north of Statesville (Walmart, Publix, Chick-fil-A) area is being pushed back by five years. This is going to stress our transportation system in that area more than it currently is, but the city has no real control over that road. Additionally, N.C. 115, north of the I-40 bridge, has also been pushed, and we have no timeline on when it will be brought back to the fore. These delays are extra troublesome because residents and new retail development have been counting on this widening to help alleviate traffic problems. We will continue to try to move this forward, but I do not hold out hope.

Finally, new development that has been approved around Statesville over the last few years is now underway. Residential, commercial, and industrial development is working through the construction (and in some cases destruction) process and will contribute to the mess. However, at the end of the day, I would much rather see a city that is growing and prospering than one that has no activity.

So, please bear with us, we are trying our best and investing in the future of our fair city, but sometimes progress isn’t pretty. You can follow our “major projects” on the City’s website at: https://www.statesvillenc.net/statesville-progress.

Ron Smith is the city manager for the City of Statesville.