Iredell municipalities to receive total of more than $900,000 in Powell Bill funds for road improvements

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

Special to Iredell Free News

​RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Transportation has begun distributing nearly $132.7 million in State Street Aid to Municipalities, also known as Powell Bill funds, to 508 municipalities across the state.

The initial allocation, half of the overall total, was dispersed Monday. The other half will be paid by January 1. The number of recipients who applied to be considered for funds is the same as 2019.

Municipalities in Iredell County were slated to receive a total of more than $900,000.

Mooresville will receive $507,968, Statesville $347,667, Troutman $39,033, Harmony $7,107 and Love Valley $4,328.

The Powell Bill requires municipalities to use the money primarily for street resurfacing, but it can also be used for the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, drainage systems, sidewalks and greenways.

“The Powell Bill funding helps local governments improve transportation systems within their communities,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “These funds help complete critical projects like repairing roads and supporting local projects such as bikeways and sidewalks.”

The amount each municipality receives is based on a formula set by the N.C. General Assembly, with 75 percent of the funds based on population, and 25 percent based on the number of locally maintained street miles.

Twenty-three cities are receiving at least $1 million, led by Charlotte at $13.7 million based on its population of 863,985 and 2,537 miles of maintained roads. Raleigh will receive $7.1 million, followed by Greensboro ($7 million), Durham ($6.1 million), Winston Salem ($6 million) and Fayetteville ($4.9 million).

The fund is named for Junius K. Powell, a former state senator and mayor of Whiteville who was a primary sponsor of the 1951 bill to help the state’s cities with urban road problems. The first allocation of Powell Bill funds was for $4.5 million and was distributed to 386 cities and towns. Including this week’s allocations, municipalities have received more than $4.8 billion in street aid funding since the program started.