Sylva has taken the next step in the long process of repairing Allen Street after slope failure destroyed parts of the road early in 2020. 

An inclinometer on the prefab slope above Bryson Park shows that some movement has occurred since it was installed more than 60 days ago, indicating a need for repair. 

Funding for Allen Street repairs in Sylva has seen several boosts over the last several months. These funding opportunities have allowed the town to expand the scope of the project to include repairs to Bryson Park, and to begin construction on the road this summer.

With budget season in full swing, Sylva commissioners have begun discussing their priorities for how to spend taxpayer dollars in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. 

More than $3 million in the recently enacted state budget will help Sylva reopen Bryson Park, install long-discussed public bathrooms downtown and possibly assist with the expensive repairs the town faces on Allen Street. 

Sylva Town Manager Paige Dowling presented two options during the town board’s Aug. 26 meeting for funding the $2 million needed to repair landslides on Allen Street, but her ultimate recommendation was that commissioners pass on both and wait for help. 

Fixing ongoing landslide issues on Allen Street could cost up to $2 million — an amount equivalent to more than 40% of the town’s current budget — Sylva commissioners learned during a discussion at their Aug. 12 meeting  that lasted over an hour. 

Facing an estimated price tag of $1.5 million to fix persistent landslide issues on Allen Street, the Town of Sylva is asking the State to take on half the cost. 

Despite their proximity to multiple slope failures on and around Allen Street in Sylva, two trouble spots that appeared in late 2020 are unrelated to the others, according to a recently released engineering report. 

A 150-foot section of Allen Street in Sylva has been closed since April as the town board decides what to do about an ever-worsening slope failure that is now threatening the road in two separate places.