A years-long, $60.6 million upgrade to the sewer system for Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Cumberland County is partially finished and is expected to be completed in 2028, Fayetteville Public Works Commission staffers told the utility’s board on Wednesday.

In a program called the Big Rockfish Outfall and Lift Station Elimination Project, the PWC is installing more than 9.3 miles of sewer lines, from 8 inches to 24 inches in diameter, from the western end of Fayetteville and Cumberland County to the south side of Hope Mills.

An engineering map, using different colors to show where and when sewer lines are being built.
This map shows where the Fayetteville Public Works Commission is installing more than 9.3 miles of sewer line to improve the sewer service in western Fayetteville and the Hope Mills area. Phase 1 is finished. Phase 2 is underway. Phases 3 and 4 are to start in 2026. Credit: Fayetteville Public Works Commission

The new system will be more reliable than the old system, PWC Water Resources Engineering Manager Kevin Howell told the board. He said it will help the PWC provide service to areas of western Fayetteville that were annexed 20 years ago and expand sewer service as the community grows.

The new lines will eliminate six to seven sewer pumping stations, called lift stations, Howell said, and make it unnecessary to install additional lift stations as service demand increases. “Any time you can take mechanical and electrical components out of your system, which are required with a lift station, increases reliability,” he said.

PWC maps show that the upgraded lines will start at King Road and the Jack Britt area of western Cumberland County. They will run along Stewart’s Creek to Upchurches Pond, then continue along Big Rockfish Creek on the south side of Hope Mills, ending in the vicinity of Golfview Road and Black Bridge Road.

A PWC document says planning for this project started in 2018, and construction began in 2021. A portion of the project on Hope Mills’ south side is complete. A section from southern Hope Mills to the Jack Britt area is under construction and expected to be finished in April 2026. Two remaining phases in the Hope Mills and Jack Britt areas are scheduled to go out for bid in February 2026.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.