FOR INTERNAL USE                                                                                                            March 13, 2007

CARY TO CRANK UP COMBINED WIDENING OF LAST TWO-LANE SECTION OF MAYNARD LOOP AND STREAM RESTORATION PROJECT

WHAT:            Ceremony to officially begin the Southwest Maynard Road Widening and Swift Creek Stream Restoration and Nitrogen Removal Best Management Practices (BMP) Project

 WHEN:            Wednesday, March 14, 2007

2 p.m.

 WHERE:         Corner of Southwest Maynard Road and Pamlico Drive beside the tributary to the Swift Creek Stream                       

WHO:              Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister and Suzanne Klimek, Director of Operations for the N.C. Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP), will prompt a front loader to start digging to begin the $11.7-million project to widen the last two-lane section of the Maynard Loop and restore an adjacent stream.

BACKGROUND:

Approved by the Cary Town Council in 1999, the 1.25 mile highway project will open the entire Maynard Loop to two lanes in both directions and upgrade existing signals along the corridor.  As part of mitigation efforts for the widening, the Town combined this project with one of the area’s most innovative stream restoration projects.  Funded in part by a grant from the EEP, the stream restoration features upgrades to 2,000 feet of the unnamed tributary, including a BMP for nitrogen removal, replacement of the culverts to help reduce flooding, construction of a more stable stream channel, reestablishment of aquatics and terrestrial habitats, and improvement of wetlands to better intercept runoff flowing through stormwater channels.   

MEDIA NOTE:

Following the ceremony, tours will be given of the stream restoration area.  

DIRECTIONS:

Travel I-40 to the Cary Towne Boulevard Exit.  Travel south on Cary Towne Boulevard to Maynard Road .  Turn left onto Maynard Road .  Travel Maynard Road to Griffis Street .  Turn right on Griffis Street , then left on W. Cornwall Road and then left on Pamlico Drive . Media can park on the shoulder areas of either Pamlico Drive or W. Cornwall Road .

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