Chatham County Sinkhole to be Repaired by Late June

The sinkhole on Lystra Church Road in Chatham County is expected to be fixed by the end of the month. Recent rainfall delayed the original completion date of June 17, and it is now projected to be done by June 30.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the contractor is making “every effort” to open the road as soon as possible. A portion of the road by Jordan Lake closed in January after the sinkhole emerged.

Officials called the project “extensive.” In repairs, it required workers to excavate two 60-inch culvert pipes under the road and replace them with a 12-foot pipe. A 16-inch underground water line was also relocated. In addition, the road itself is being repaired.

The signed detour between Farrington Point Road and Jack Bennett Road will remain in place until the project is completed.

NCDOT advises drivers travelling east on Lystra Road to take Jack Bennett Road to Big Woods Road, go south to U.S. 64, east to Farrington Point Road and then go north back to Lystra Road. From Farrington Point Road, the detour is reversed.

Drivers are asked to use caution and expect an increase in travel times.

http://chapelboro.com/news/traffic/chatham-county-sinkhole-to-be-repaired-by-late-june

Northside Sees “A Brush With Kindness”

CHAPEL HILL – Take a drive through Chapel Hill’s historic Northside neighborhood and you’ll experience “A Brush With Kindness”.

Saturday, your neighbors in Northside held a celebration for work done by Habitat for Humanity.

“A Brush with Kindness is an exterior repair program through Habitat, and the Northside community has kind of organized itself,” Community Development Manager, Adwoa Asare, said.” With the help of the Jackson center and the University they said they are in need of exterior home repair.”

Habitat held a dedication Saturday to its “A Brush with Kindness” program.

Habitat received funding for this project from the Town of Chapel Hill’s Town’s Affordable Housing Fund.  Using this money, Habitat has worked with several houses in the area to improve the exterior.

“This is our fourth repair we’ve done in the Northside community since April, so April was the first two repairs that we did,” Asare said. “We did another one last month and this is our fourth, and we’re hoping to do five before September. We’ve gotten funding from the Town of Chapel Hill, 25,000 dollars to do five a Brush for Kindness repairs for Northside and Pine Knolls”

Habitat worked in partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill, the Jackson Center, and UNC’s Good Neighbor Initiative. Asare said many of the volunteers for this project came from the neighborhoods around Northside and UNC.

UNC’s Good Neighbor Intitiative works with residents and students to improve the communication and contact between them.  Director of Fraternity and Sorority life in community involvement, Aaron Bachenheimer, said it’s taken a team effort to put the project together.

“We’ve certainly, along with the Jackson center, I would say our office has been one of the primary organizations that has helped look for volunteers” Bachenheimer said.

Volunteers from the area and members worked for three days to improve the house of life-long resident Janie Alston.

Alston said she was very pleased to have the help of Habitat to make repairs to her home and she thanked them during the celebration.  Along with a prayer from her church, Alston was given a new bible from Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity is always looking for new volunteers or people to donate to their cause.  They have currently been working to improve Northside, Pineknolls, and Roger’s Road.

http://chapelboro.com/news/development/habitat-celebrates-a-brush-with-kindness