A project to overhaul and beautify Cedar Street in downtown Beaufort is underway this week and officials say it includes an innovative way to capture storm runoff.
The N.C. Department of Transportation will construct bioretention bump-outs, which collect and filter storm runoff before the rainwater drains away.
The bump-outs will be concrete borders along the street and filled with landscaping that resemble planter boxes. There will be 14 of them.
The town of Beaufort will also use permeable pavement to rebuild the parking lanes along Cedar Street, which will also help reduce runoff and minimize pollutants from getting into the water.
The work is expected to be finished by this summer.
It will mean some lane closures and some brief road closures. The first such detour is scheduled to begin Jan. 17 at Cedar and Craven streets and last about two weeks.
