Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
The Duplin County Economic Development Board received the news at their regular meeting last Friday morning of yet another delay in the completion of the development work at the Airpark industrial center. Originally scheduled to be completed in July, it is now estimated the current project will not be finished until the first or second week of December.
The project has been plagued with delays caused by several factors, including weather and a series of change order requests by contractors involved in the project. In addition, coordinating work between contractors within the same workspace has proved a challenge. Despite the delays, Duplin Economic Development Director Scotty Summerlin told the board he is confident things are finally getting close to completion.
“Things are really starting to speed up now,” Summerlin told the board before they voted to accept an additional contract change request for an additional 26 days to complete some of the work.
The Airpark project includes adding new roadways and other infrastructure, as well as water and sewer lines, and electrical service. Construction is also underway on a new 50,000 square-foot shell building. Projects in the near future include an additional shell building and the construction of several short-term rental homes within the Airpark. The board voted to proceed with a request for proposals to clear the land for the rental units and they agreed to explore using prefab homes in building the units.
The board also heard from an engineer involved in the Airpark project that inflow and infiltration issues had been discovered in the new sewage system being constructed at the Airpark.
“I’m counting on you to hold their feet to the fire,” Economic Development Board Chairman Charley Farrior told the engineer, referring to the engineer encouraging the contractor involved in the sewer project to resolve the issues quickly.
Summerlin had more positive news for the board regarding two other projects. Construction on the new 50,000 square foot shell building in the SouthPark Industrial Center near Wallace was going ahead of schedule. He also said construction of the new N.C. Forest Service Region One Headquarters is scheduled to begin in early December. The building is being constructed across from two large hangars the N.C. Forest Service already occupies at the Duplin County Airport. The Region One headquarters is being moved from Kinston to Duplin County.
In other business involving construction at the airport, the board approved spending $1,500 to improve an asphalt patch at a driveway to an existing hangar that had to be cut during the new construction.
Summerlin also updated the board on plans to build new signage on the Airpark property that will be located on the northeast corner of Airport Road and Airpark Drive. Summerlin is currently seeking bids for the sign that should be completed in February or March of next year. The signage is being funded by a grant from North Carolina’s Southeast Partnership, a public-private economic development organization.
The board also approved spending $25,500 to perform routine annual maintenance on the rail spur into Westpark in Warsaw.
“The rail folks actually did the inspection and prompted us it was time to take on this work,” Summerlin told the board.
The contract with Shanes Railwork, Inc. calls for the replacement of 100 cross ties and other maintenance work on the spur.
