Fred Smith Co. awarded $16.9M Rolesville Main Street contract for revitalization

The N.C. Department of Transportation has approved a $16,875,679 bid award to the Fred Smith Co. for the Rolesville Main Street Project, a downtown revitalization covering Main Street from Burlington Mills Road to Young Street that town officials say represents over $20 million in investment and is supported by American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The project will realign the Burlington Mills Road intersection with Main Street and construct streetscape improvements including landscaping, improved crosswalks, new curb and gutter, sidewalks, and bicycle transportation enhancements from Burlington Mills Road to Young Street. The original scope has expanded to include bringing 42 curb ramps up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and offsite improvements tied to the future Wallbrook development (Publix) that include widening, medians, landscaping, and a 10′ multi-use path.

Funding for the work comes from multiple sources. Roughly 57% of the money comes from federal grants, about 23% from the town of Rolesville, and about 20% from Crosland Southeast, the developer of Wallbrook, with additional support noted from the N.C. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Town materials also state the project “represents over $20 million in investment and is supported by funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.”

The Main Street Project ties directly to the Rolesville Vision Plan Goal 4 to reestablish a town center. The Vision Plan notes that “Most activity on Main Street is centered away from the Young Street intersection at the strip malls and elementary school, leaving the intersection quiet and negatively impacting the local businesses,” and recommends reinvesting through streetscape projects, façade grants, pocket parks, and town facilities to spur redevelopment.

Local leaders framed the contract award as a long-sought step toward creating a more active downtown. Currin said, “If we don’t have a downtown, can we have a Main Street? So, that’s where the Main Street idea came in is to create a Main Street rather than a downtown.” Currin added, “The Main Street Project also will calm inbound traffic to make the area a safer place for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. The revitalized Main Street will remain accessible to people with disabilities.” Rolesville Finance Director Amy Stevens said, “The Main Street Project remains the largest public project the town has undertaken.” Ross praised the local control of federal funds, saying, “This is some of the best use of federal funding that comes to the state through DOT with local folks deciding how it’s going to be deployed. That’s exactly how it should work.” Ross also said, “Now, it’s going to be more walkable, more customer-friendly, and it’s just such a wonderful thing.”

Town officials note the project “has been in the works for years” and call it a vision of the late former Mayor Frank Eagles as Rolesville positions Main Street to connect historic downtown character with new growth around Young Street and the Wallbrook development. A construction schedule and completion date have not been released in project materials; the town is distributing regular project notices through the Rolesville NewsBlast email alerts and is handling project inquiries through the Rolesville Town Hall project hotline at 919-326-7857. Project mail is routed to 502 Southtown Circle, P.O. Box 250, Rolesville, NC 27571, and questions can be emailed to mainstreetproject@rolesvillenc.gov.