Ice Storm's Impact, Cost Linger in Town

One month after a fierce ice storm brought down tree limbs and power lines and crippled the winter-weary Triangle, local officials still are trying to get a grasp on the massive cleanup effort.

Chapel Hill officials estimated early on that they would collect up to 20,000 tons of debris at a cost of almost $1 million.

Public Works Director Bruce Heflin said that those initial estimates might be on the high side but that so far the town has double the amount of debris annually collected.

In an average year, the public works department collects no more than 2,000 tons of debris, but in the last month crews have deposited 3,900 tons.

Chapel Hill has hired outside firms to complete a majority of the cleanup, but public works crews still dedicate much of their time to the effort.

Bill Stockard, assistant to the town manager, said crews are working six days a week and plan to complete the first cycle of debris removal by Jan. 17.

Despite the long hours, crews still have about 90 percent of the debris to collect. Stockard said debris removal will continue for the next several months, possibly extending through April.

In other areas of the Triangle, officials have reported quicker cleanup rates. Raleigh-area officials plan to finish their collection by the end of February, and Durham, which was the hardest-hit area in the Triangle, says it should be done by mid-March.

Chapel Hill Town Council members said the cleanup probably will take longer in Chapel Hill than in nearby counties because proportional to size and population, the area was one of the hardest-hit in the Triangle.

"We are doing the best job we can," said council member Mark Kleinschmidt. "We've hired outside workers. But there is just so much to clean up."

The storm, which hit Dec. 4 and 5, shut down the entire area as many roadways were impassable and power was knocked out in most homes and businesses.

Power companies worked endlessly for the next couple of weeks to restore power to residents, many of whom were without heat for at least 10 days, and the state was declared a federal disaster area.

Officials hadn't seen destruction on such a large scale since Hurricane Fran paralyzed the area in 1996.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro officials said they are moving at a quicker pace in this cleanup because the ice storm brought down fewer whole trees than the hurricane's devastating winds.

All the debris is being deposited at the Orange County Regional Landfill, which has had long lines of cars and trucks waiting to dump debris for the past several weeks.

As in 1996, local officials are planning on recouping about 75 percent of their costs from the federal disaster relief money set aside for the state. Traditionally, the remaining 25 percent has been picked up by the state, but officials are not optimistic about those prospects with North Carolina's financial crisis.

The hardest-hit areas of Morgan Creek and Mason Farm Road were the first to get attention, but progress has been made across town.

Once crews complete the first cycle in the next couple of weeks, they will be making more rounds until all the debris is collected.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.