Since the historic hurricane known as Florence hit the area in 2018, the eroding soil at Elizabethtown City Cemetery has been on many hearts and minds. Plans to restore the damaged cemetery are now in place with the approval of the construction bid.
The storm caused a record rainfall of 35.93 inches to hit Elizabethtown, North Carolina, causing the cemetery substantial damage. Eroding soil moved grave markers from where they once stood, and the ground shifted, affecting a large perimeter, crossing E. Queen Street behind the Old Trinity Methodist Church.
Engineers with WK Dickson have been working with the Town of Elizabethtown to create a solution to fix the cemetery while applying protective measures to prevent future damage. WK Dickson stated, “Unfortunately, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery was one of the many casualties of the storm, and it suffered damage when the hurricane’s heavy rainfall saturated the ground, causing it to sink and shift, as much as 2 feet in some areas.”
In October, WK Dickson published a video explaining the plan for repairing the area. View the video provided below.
At the last Town of Elizabethtown council meeting, the council members approved a bid for construction to repair the cemetery. The construction bid award went to S & C Construction in the amount of $348,7591. There were a total of seven bids, with S & C Construction providing the lowest bid.
The Construction Phase services were also approved during the December meeting.
Previously, Mr. Eddie Madden, Town of Elizabethtown Manager, announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wanted to return the cemetery to pre-storm conditions. Jason A. Nelson, Chief with Disaster Response and Recover, confirmed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Federal grants for the State of North Carolina associated with Hurricane Florence.
The total estimated cost for the Elizabethtown project was $5,235,649.86, according to officials. FEMA’s share of funding is $3,926,737.40, which totals 75% of the project costs. Mr. Madden explained the project would be covered by a combination of State and Federal Funds.
The construction plan to return the cemetery to pre-storm conditions is to build a sheet pile wall at the cemetery and add a drainage system. The goal is for the cemetery construction project to be completed in 2021.
View related videos and articles:
https://bladencounty.org/over-5-million-dollars-in-approved-funding-to-save-elizabethtown-cemetery/
https://bladencounty.org/updates-on-elizabethtown-cemetery-streetscape-and-lock-and-dam/
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