GRANITE QUARRY — The town of Granite Quarry took another step forward in a project that would create sidewalks connecting all three of the town parks during the board of aldermen meeting on Monday by approving an agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The agreement outlines the scope of the project and is required as part of the oversight the NCDOT provides on projects utilizing federal funding. The project would cost a total of $550,000 and would require a 20 percent match from the town, meaning Granite Quarry will be spending a minimum of $110,000. The federal government would reimburse the town for the remaining $440,000 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Phil Conrad, planner with the Cabarrus-Rowan Metropolitan Planning Organization, noted that the town would be required to cover any additional costs that arise during the project. Conrad and Town Manager Jason Hord also said that the $27,500 contingency fund, included in that $550,000, would help cover unexpected costs and inflationary costs.

Alderman Doug Shelton described the sidewalk expansion as a “vision project,” something that the board saw as fitting all of their plans going forward. Mayor Brittany Barnhardt noted that the sidewalk project is the first one that the board included in the town’s Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan that is coming to fruition.

“This has been something of a vision project. It’s consistent with what we saw going forward, that it would fit our vision to connect the parks and that it fits our vision to follow these plans and do something about them,” Shelton said.

All of Conrad, Barnhardt and Shelton said that they believed that there was latent demand for the project. Barnhardt said that the town has wayfinding signs coming that would point people towards the parks, which could increase demand for walkable routes between them. Shelton said that he believed more demand for walkability was created when the NCDOT renovated Bank Street, which removed the only sidewalk that crossed the railroad tracks in the area.

Neither the board or Hord, who also serves as the public works director, spoke about a potential start date for the project. Hord did say that the agreement was the last step before he was able to put out a request for qualifications for engineering services for the project. The agreement with the NCDOT does stipulate that the project needs to be completed within five years, however.

At the end of the discussion, the aldermen voted unanimously to approve the municipal agreement.