Cedar Street Green Infrastructure

With the opening of the new bridge from Morehead City to Beaufort, the eastern portion of Cedar Street took on a whole new feel. No longer the landing point into Beaufort, the two-lane roadway, with parking on both sides, is slated to be turned over to the Town, but before that can happen improvements are warranted. NCDOT has agreed in principal to complete a rehabilitation of the roadway, and as part of that effort, they realized that there was an opportunity to include some green stormwater infrastructure within the right-of-way. With Beaufort’s coastal setting, improving water quality in Town Creek is always a priority and with new businesses looking to energize the Cedar Street corridor this was the right setting to improve the streetscape by adding in some nature.

The McAdams team picked up on a preliminary plan which had outlined the location for 14 roadside biofiltration systems. Seizing on the vision for roadway rehabilitation, we also recommended long strips of permeable pavement on either side of the travel lanes to further reduce surface runoff from the highly impervious corridor. The designs are considerate of the high water table and sub-surface conditions common in Beaufort. These nature based solutions are designed to work with nature, not to fight it.

Preliminary calculations indicate that we have the potential to reduce the concentrations of total suspended solids and fecal coliform from the outfall pipe. The design is currently underway with a projected bid advertisement for construction in early Summer 2022 and construction after the peak tourism season this fall.