After costs for the northern section of the Interstate 26 Connector Project in North Carolina came in over budget, a six-month optimization and refinement process has reduced the cost estimate of the $1.14 billion project by approximately $124 million.
Over $64 million was saved by reducing the number and width of the bridges across the French Broad River. One bridge was removed entirely, leaving the total bridge count to four.
A proposed interchange connecting Interstate 240 to Patton Avenue was eliminated along with several retaining walls.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will move forward with the project on its original schedule, according to NCDOT Division 13 Construction Engineer Nathan Moneyham.
Completion of the North Section is expected in 2031, but in about 18 months, people will start to see the department building bridges, Moneyham said in an interview with the Citizen Times.
“It’s been a long time to get to this point, over many decades … the stage that we’re at now is really the biggest milestone that we’ve hit thus far with the project because it really means we are fully working toward design and construction," Moneyham said. "The connector has started."
Source: USA Today, Asheville Citizen Times
