Fifth Avenue Street, Sidewalk, And Water Utility Improvement Project

• Project typeImprovement
• Project value$15.75 million, with $12 million paid by CFPUA for water and sewer infrastructure
• Project scheduleCompleted in late 2025
• Contractor nameFred Smith Company

About the Project

The City recently completed an improvement project along Fifth Avenue, a scenic connector between downtown and Greenfield Lake Park, through a coordinated effort that brought multiple plans, departments, and partners together around a shared goal. Years of wear had left the pavement in poor condition, and long-range planning efforts, including the Cape Fear Historic Byway Corridor Management Plan (2008) and the Cape Fear Commutes 2035 Transportation Plan (2010), identified the corridor as an opportunity to improve safety and mobility by transitioning to one travel lane in each direction and adding dedicated bike lanes.

Building on that guidance, the City developed a comprehensive project to resurface the roadway, restripe the pavement to include bicycle lanes in both directions, and address needed repairs to sidewalks, stormwater infrastructure, and curbs. At the same time, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority was planning a full replacement of water and sewer mains and services along the corridor. By aligning schedules and working collaboratively, the City and CFPUA partnered on the project to reduce disruptions to residents, improve efficiency, and maximize public investment while delivering a safer, more complete street.

Project Area

Fifth Avenue between Greenfield Street and Market Street

Project Scope

• New water and sewer utilities
• Stormwater drain improvements
• Street resurfacing
• Sidewalk and curbing repairs
• Converted two driving lanes in each direction to one driving lane in each direction
• New dedicated bike lanes in each direction
• Maintain curbside parking on both sides of the road
• New and updated ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps
• New crosswalks at Greenfield, Marstellar, and Ann streets
• Added missing sidewalk and curb
• Installation of approximately 7,000 feet of 8- and 16-inch water mains and more than 5,000 feet of gravity sanitary sewer mains
• 1,300 feet of gravity sewer mains were also rehabilitated by cured-in-place-pipe lining
• Tree replacement in the median

Location

Along Fifth Avenue from Market St to Greenfield St,    View Map

34.235860, -77.943262

Along Fifth Avenue from Market St to Greenfield St ,  

Along Fifth Avenue from Market St to Greenfield St ,  

Fifth Avenue Street, Sidewalk, And Water Utility Improvement Project