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City Projects

Home | Departments | Development Services | Resiliency | City Projects
The City has undertaken several projects to improve and enhance New Bern's resiliency. Every city department has engaged in special projects, programs, or training to continue moving New Bern forward and to develop a government and community that can absorb, adapt and overcome disaster quickly and efficiently. Below is a look at some of those projects.  Be sure to visit often - our checklist is long but our commitment to perseverance is steadfast.

Administration  
  • Host critical planning meetings for disaster events including staff response, equipment staging & support services necessary for the duration of the event.
  
  • Gather leadership & other designated staff for after-action assessment & feedback post-incident.
  
  • Joined the American Flood Coalition, a nonpartisan group of state & local leaders focused on solutions that support flood-affected communities & protect residents, economy & military installations.
  
  • Implemented New Bern Alerts (powered by CivicReady), a free, mass notification & emergency messaging system designed to communicate with & engage residents with message delivery via text, email, voicemail & mobile app.
  
   


Department of Public Utilities (Electric)  
  • Implemented text notification system for power outages & restorations for smartphone users.
  
  • Completed Electric System Capacity Improvement Project with resilient grid functionality.
  
  • Enhanced our utility outage notifications and updates through interactive voice messaging & text alerts.
  
  • Continue to annually renew (& activate new) mutual aid agreements both regionally & nationally.
  
  • Aerial to underground river crossing for primary electric.
  
  • Annually practice & update our disaster response plans to include equipment testing.
  
  • Improved our vegetation management & tree trimming services with focus on primary electric routes.
  
  • Raised & relocated inundated electrical infrastructure using Golden Leaf grant.
  
  • Installation of automated hurricane/storm shutters at our Kale Road facility, which serves as our Emergency Operations Center during disasters.
  
  • Implementation of the City's first electric vehicle chargers in two public parking lots, including new rate schedule (partial grant funding).
  


Department of Public Utilities (Water Resources)  
  • Upgraded SCADA system that monitors & controls critical water & wastewater infrastructure during storm events.
  
  • Joined NC Water WARN, a statewide mutual aid group for water & wastewater systems.
  
  • Developed plans, obtained permits & received grants to relocate key wastewater infrastructure out of the floodplain.
  
  • Rehabilitation of wastewater infrastructure located within the floodplain.
  
  • Installation of emergency backup generators at several locations to keep critical water & wastewater components operational during disaster events.
  

Development Services  
  • Participated in MumFest 2022, our first public engagement opportunity after the adoption of New Bern's Resiliency & Hazard Mitigation Plan. A "New Bern Resilience" booth was set up at the festival including photos, information, maps, a chance to give feedback & share experiences during disasters, ask questions, and share ideas for building a stronger New Bern. The booth also offered visitors an opportunity to sign up for resiliency emails and New Bern Alerts, the City's mass notification and emergency messaging platform.  
  
 
  • Development of partnership with area churches to create resiliency toolkits for children (in progress).
  
  • Facilitated & developed City's first Resiliency & Hazard Mitigation Plan with the help of consultants & feedback from the public.
  
   
MumFestTrioPhotoFORWEB
MumFest 2022
New Bern Resilience Booth
E. Front Street


Fire-Rescue  
  • Participated in multi-jurisdictional river rescue training for real-life scenarios with NC Urban Search & Rescue Task Force Team 10.
  
  • Organized & hosted annual Emergency Operations Center training program for leadership staff.
  
  • Purchased Zodiac 470, inflatable boat designed for military & emergency response teams (grant funds).
  
  • Received Zodiac 420 inflatable boat from the State of North Carolina.
  
  • Received a double stack trailer for boats from NC Emergency Management.
  
  • Purchased 2 inflatable rafts.
  
  • Purchased 2 new motors for Zodiac inflatables.
  
  • Purchased additional personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff. 
  
  • All fire-rescue personnel completed water awareness training.
  
  • Established partnership with NC Marine Patrol & NC State Highway Patrol & train with both agencies.
  
  • Worked with NC Emergency Management & city staff to create GIS-based technology that provides real-time tracking of personnel.
  
  • Worked with NC Emergency Management & city staff to create GIS-based technology that provides real-time damage assessments. 
  


EOC Course July 2022
 Citywide Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Training
July 2022






















Human Resources  
  • Safety:
  
   


Information Technology  
  • Implemented ThinkGard backup & disaster recovery system.
  
  • Purchased, configured & assigned additional city laptops for remote working capability.
  
  • Deployed large, critical portions of the Cisco Security Suite, a broad set of technologies that provide a secure & resilient network infrastructure.
  
  • Started regular vulnerability testing to identify flaws in software & hardware & resolve them quickly
  
  • Moved remote access capabilities to more secure software platforms to provide safe, secure remote access for city systems.
  



Parks & Recreation  
  • Union Point Park: repaired & replaced floating dock using hog slat, a stronger material built to withstand extreme weather conditions; replaced stationary dock with hog slat to alleviate loss during a disaster & to prevent hydrologic pressure impacts.
  
  • Glenburnie Park: replaced floating dock with sectioned dock material that can be easily removed to avoid loss during disasters.
  
  • Lawson Creek Park: increased height of entrance road to alleviate flooding; both boat launches received new, elevated, 5 foot pilings to reduce risk of loss during disasters. Pilings have also been tethered.
  
  • Replaced section of Riverwalk underneath the Alfred Cunningham Bridge that was lost during hurricane Florence; increased piling height & re-engineered this area to withstand flooding & powerful storms.
  
  • Monk Mallard Park: bank stabilization project.
  
  • All City cemeteries: removed a variety of trees with the potential for damaging headstones & graves; perform regular tree evaluation & trimming if necessary.
  



Police Department  
  • Implemented updated hurricane plan specific to emergency response.
  
  • Annually conduct tabletop disaster exercise involving police & fire department leadership.
  
   



Public Works  
  • North Hills feasibility study underway to address flooding & infrastructure issues.
  
  • Duffyfield Resiliency Project: phase 1 included replacement of the pump station along Rose St.
  
  • Bank stabilization & drainage pipe replacement project at the intersection of Red Robin Lane & Trent Road.
  
  • Bank stabilization project along the 2400 block of Trent Road so that stormwater can drain appropriately out to Lawson Creek.
  
  • Racetrack Road project to replace single 36" drainage pipe with double 36" stormwater drainage pipes.
  
  • Installed storm piping & drop inlets along Jarvis, Williams and Grace streets.
  
  • Partnered with NC Emergency Management to install & monitor local tidal gauges.
  
  • Partnered with UNC on the Sunny D project to share flood data from S. Front St. flood monitor.
  
  • Enlarged culvert for single 60" stormwater drainage pipe underneath railroad tracks near Derby Park subdivision.
  
  • Partnered with Sound Rivers to install Trash Trout in the Duffyfield Canal near Beaufort St. which will study pollution & breakdown of microplastics, help prevent trash from flowing into the river & improve the river's overall health.
  
  • Identified adequate Temporary Transfer Site for debris for future disasters, streamlining the City's collection & disposal process.
  
  • Elevated 2 feet & paved Oaks Road near Neuse Avenue, an area prone to flooding from the Jack Smith Creek.
  
  • Replaced approximately 60 year-old stormwater pipes along Metcalf St. that were significantly damaged during hurricane Florence using Golden Leaf Foundation grant.