Sandburg Home, Parkway face maintenance backlog

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg points out holes in the wall at the Sandburg home that will not be repaired currently due to lack of funding. The historic site now has $7.49 million in backlogged projects needing funding and the Blue Ridge Parkway has $247 million in deferred needs.

The Carl Sandburg Home and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina are facing a $255 million backlog in the upkeep of their facilities, part of $11.49 billion in so-called deferred maintenance reported at the country's national parks in 2014.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg points out holes in the wall at the Sandburg home that will not be repaired currently due to lack of funding. The historic site now has $7.49 million in backlogged projects needing funding and the Blue Ridge Parkway has $247 million in deferred needs.

Last week, the National Park Service released its list of deferred maintenance needs for its 400-plus park units throughout the U.S.

For North Carolina's seven units, the total was $395 million in 2014, not including $231 million in unmet maintenance needs along the Parkway's Virginia section.

What's happened is just the budget that we've gotten to manage the park, the funds haven't kept pace with the cost of doing business, said Leesa Brandon, public information officer for the Parkway. And every year, that gap just keeps getting bigger.

The Parkway's section in North Carolina has postponed $247.7 million in maintenance, the majority of that along the paved roadway itself. However, the Parkway as a whole has also delayed about $10.2 million in building upkeep and $37 million in upgrades to unpaved roads due to tight budgets in recent years.

We hear from visitors very regularly that they're sad and disappointed with the condition of the road, said Brandon. So many people have connections with the Parkway, through many generations, and they remember it differently.

At the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, $1.3 million of its $7.49 million in deferred maintenance needs were classified in 2014 as critical systems such as trails, pasture fences and the poet's former residence.

Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg said the park was able to address a small portion of its deferred maintenance needs in the current fiscal year, tackling repairs to park's goat barn, house garage and many of its 38 other outbuildings.

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Sandburg Home, Parkway face maintenance backlog