Jan. 19—HIGH POINT — City officials say construction on a transportation project that High Point voters approved in a 2019 bond referendum is on track to finish June 10.

Contractors are rebuilding part of Washington Street to shift the roadway about 10 feet away from a failing railroad slope in front of Penn-Griffin School for the Arts.

The $3.1 million project, which started construction in September, is also replacing underground water and sewer utilities that date to the early 1900s, city Engineering Services Director Trevor Spencer told the City Council in a recent briefing.

A new sidewalk on the north side of the street will connect with the school and a new pedestrian crosswalk, which will tie in with the existing pedestrian bridge that spans the railroad.

The project area — which extends from Mt. Zion Baptist Church to N. Downing Street — is mostly outside the official Washington Street historic district boundaries.

The city is planning a separate project within this area that would involve placing overhead utilities underground along Washington Street from N. Centennial Street to Day Place.

This would supplement a 2015 streetscape project in the district in which the city put new sidewalks, lighting and other improvements in place and replaced underground infrastructure.

“Going back to the work that was done on Washington Street several years ago, I can recall conversations from local residents and business owners who asked why the city did the whole project and left the power lines up. And there was a cost back then, I think, associated with that decision,” said Mayor Cyril Jefferson.

“I think it’s government’s role to try to create the environment that is conducive for businesses and residents to thrive. And I think this is one of those opportunities,” he said.

The city will finish the current Washington Street project before starting the other phase. The cost estimate for it is $4 million. The city says there are funds available for it in the fund balance, or reserves, of the electric fund.

City officials hope to have a design in place by summer of this year.

“I would say sometime calendar year 2024 we should be able to start this,” said Spencer. “I think we would like to take advantage of the summer months when school is not in session to really limit the impact to them. They have been great to work with. The community in general has been great to work with throughout the current project.”