A federally-funded streetscape project designed to make downtown Fayetteville more accessible to pedestrians along Stonewall Avenue was approved last week by the Fayetteville City Council.
The streetscape project on the north and south sides of Stonewall Avenue will connect Braxton Court to the downtown area and will add sidewalks, landscaping and historic-looking streetlights.
Fayetteville Public Services Director Chris Hindman said the purpose of the project is to fill in the gap in the Stonewall Avenue sidewalk network between Braxton Court through the city cemetery and to tie into the existing network to downtown.
Work will be performed to enhance the existing sidewalk networks on the north and south sides of Stonewall through the use of concrete brick pavers, benches, additional landscaping such as crape myrtles and trash receptacles. Decorative aluminum fencing with brick columns will be installed in front of the cemetery property, Hindman said.
Hindman said new decorative street lights will be installed in an effort to enhance the walkability of Stonewall Avenue.
Brick paver sidewalks along Stonewall Avenue will range from 5-8 feet while the landscape strip between the sidewalk and roadway will be 2-4 feet in width.
With a price tag totaling $304,834, the project carries 80 percent funding by the Federal Transportation Enhancement program with the remaining 20 percent match totaling $60,967 coming from the use of local SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) and/or cemetery trust funds.
Hindman said the project is expected to go to bid by the end of January. The project completion date is Dec. 31, 2015, though Hindman said he expects to see the project finished prior to the contract completion date.
The sidewalk project is similar in design to the Lanier Avenue streetscape improvements constructed in 2007.
The impetus for the streetscape projects began several years ago as a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) project.
