Columbia aldermen were jubilant when town manager Rhett White announced to them June 19 that Dominion Energy will relocate four power poles on North Road Street near North Boundary Canal at no cost to the town or Tyrrell County.

Up until June 15 the power company had said it would charge as much as $120,000 to move the poles so the street surface can be elevated 18 inches to pass over a larger culvert destined for the canal as a flood-control measure.

Dominion officials backed away from the charge after no property easements were found in company files, meaning the poles are situated on town property, White explained.

The Tyrrell County Board of Commissioners, which is heading up the project, on May 24 adopted a $730,000 budget for enlarging the culvert and elevating the street over the new culvert.

The budget shows a county contribution of $25,000 plus a $400,000 grant and $305,000 from N.C. Department of Transportation, the latter initiated by former Transportation Board member Malcolm Fearing and helped along by his successor, Allen Moran, and Gov. Roy Cooper’s Adminstration, Tyrrell County manager David Clegg stated June 21.

White predicted the road improvement project will close North Road Street to vehicle traffic for “a few days minimum.”

Meanwhile, the town is applying for $200,000 to dredge North Boundary Canal from Road Street to the Scuppernong River. Once the money is committed, the town will apply for an environmental permit to dredge the canal. But the canal work is not expected to begin before November 30 because of protected fish migration.