U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee’s office highlighted recent federal funding secured for the upcoming fiscal year for local governments and utilities in her district, including millions of dollars for projects in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Pittsboro.
The NC-04 representative’s office shared a release on Feb. 6 breaking down the $21.1 million secured for 15 requests for Community Project Funding from the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2026. Projects from each county in Foushee’s district — Orange, Durham, Wake and Chatham counties — received the federal funding after President Donald Trump signed the bills in which they were included on Nov. 12, Jan. 23 and Feb. 3.
“This significant funding will allow us to invest in some of our community’s most pressing needs,” Foushee said in a statement from her office, “including updating water infrastructure, strengthening emergency response capabilities, improving transportation, and expanding affordable housing so every family has access to a safe, quality home. These projects came directly from community members and local leaders, and each one will help improve the quality of life for residents across the district. I remain committed to continuing to bring home the federal resources our community deserves and delivering meaningful results for our community.”
Among the projects are two long-term efforts for the Town of Chapel Hill. The local government’s affordable housing project on town-owned property off Legion Road secured $2 million of federal funding for the fiscal year, while its Fordham Boulevard Sidepath project earned $1 million of its $2 million requested.
“These are both very high-priority projects for the town,” Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson told 97.9 The Hill, “and we of course are very grateful to Congresswoman Foushee and her staff for shepherding our requests through the process.”
The Legion Road affordable housing was approved by the council in 2022, reserving nine acres of the 36-acre property for a complex that will provide 168 units of low-income housing. No public cost estimate exists for construction, as the town is working on final designs and permits to remove the pond and dam on the site, but Chapel Hill officials plan to apply for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funding to supplement the federal and local dollars. Pond drainage began in the spring of 2025 and landscaping and dam removal is expected happen in early 2026. The Fordham Boulevard Sidepath project aims to construct 3,500 feet of sidewalk from Cleland Drive to Willow Drive to improve connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists along the major road. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2026, after design adjustments are made following damage from Tropical Storm Chantal.
This aerial rendering shows the general layout of Chapel Hill’s future affordable housing and park at the 1714 Legion Road property. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
Also among the Community Project Funding awarded to Orange County is more than $2 million to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to help with two significant projects. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro utility agency’s future PFAS Treatment Facility secured $1.092 million, which will help the design phase of a new facility to better remove traces of harmful “forever chemicals” from drinking water. Additionally, the legislation appropriated $1.092 million for OWASA’s replacement of an aging clearwell — which it says will improve its current water purification process.
“These funds will help reduce the cost burden on the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community for both removing PFAS from our drinking water and the environment, and the replacement of critical drinking water infrastructure used for storage and disinfection,” said OWASA Executive Director Todd Taylor. “Thanks to Congresswoman Foushee’s support in securing this grant, our community will save over $2 million in the coming years as OWASA updates infrastructure to ensure high quality and reliable drinking water for Carrboro-Chapel Hill residents.”
An aerial of OWASA’s Jones Ferry Road treatment site, with an overlay of where the future PFAS treatment facility will be located. (Photo via the Orange Water and Sewer Authority.)
The Town of Hillsborough also received $1 million to aid its transition from using a chlorine gas disinfection system to a sodium hypochlorite system and the Town of Pittsboro received $850,000 to aid its Downtown Revitalization project that aims to improve walkability and accessibility. The latter project is now fully funded thanks to the federal portion, according to Pittsboro.
To see the full project requests and other Community Project Funding appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026, visit the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s website.
Featured photo via AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite.
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