Durham Reporter

City of Durham issued the following announcement on Dec. 5.

December 13 Meeting to Provide Construction Updates for Third Fork Creek Improvements; Area Ranked in Top 15 of Needed Buffer Restoration Projects

Planning is underway to improve the health of a local creek and the use of nearby sidewalks, and residents are now invited to learn more about the changes coming to Third Fork Creek in the Lakewood Avenue area of Durham. 

On Tuesday, December 13 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Durham County Main Library, located at 300 N. Roxboro St., attendees will meet with City of Durham project staff to learn more about the stream enhancements planned for Third Fork Creek.

“Our project team invites questions from residents on the stream improvement process and how the trees and other plants will grow over time,” said Project Manager Sandra Wilbur with the Stormwater Division of the City of Durham Public Works Department. “Once the project is complete, neighbors will notice more stable stream banks and more native plants growing in the area. The stream project will also make nearby sidewalks more usable.”

According to Wilbur, Phase I of the stream stabilization and enhancement project will happen north of Lakewood Avenue, west of the American Tobacco Trail. Construction for Phase I is expected to start in 2023, and Public Works is coordinating their project with Water Management's Lakewood Avenue Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project in the same area.

Phase II of the project is in the design and planning stage, and is proposed for the south side of Lakewood Avenue between South Roxboro and South Duke streets. The December 13 meeting is the first public information session planned before the design team applies for Phase II federal and state permits. Construction is scheduled to follow in 2023.

Once the estimated $830,000 project is complete in summer 2024, the work will improve the water quality of Third Fork Creek, reduce erosion and sediment, provide new plants and living spaces for animals, and benefit the overall health of downstream rivers and lakes.

A sustainable, natural, and built environment is a goal in Durham’s Strategic Plan, and this project was identified in the 2012 Durham Third Fork Creek Watershed Management Plan as one of the areas in the watershed with the greatest need for work to enhance or restore stream channels and buffer areas. In the plan, the Lakewood Avenue project was ranked as one of the top 15 buffer restoration projects.                 

Original source can be found here.