A contract for a 12km highway upgrade project has been awarded to a joint venture by the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The project involves widening and improving a stretch of Interstate 26 from Exit 40 (NC 280/Airport Road) to the I-40 interchange in Asheville. The joint venture comprises Fluor Corporation and United Infrastructure Group.
Fluor says it will book the US$263 million contract in the third quarter of 2019.
The project will widen I-26 from two lanes to four lanes in each direction and includes two interchange reconstructions, one at NC 280 (Airport Road) and the other at NC 146 (Long Shoals Road). It also includes the construction of seven new bridges, two over Glenn Bridge Road, two over Biltmore Farms Road, two over the French Broad River and one segmental bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway over I-26. The work is needed to boost capacity and cut peak time congestion. This stretch of I-26 currently carries more than 58,000 vehicles/day.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2019 with project completion to occur in the spring of 2024.
