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Work on 2-section road project (reportedly) could begin later this year
From Staff Reports
After nearly four decades of planning and discussions, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has a contractor for the two main sections of the I-26 Connector, Asheville Watchdog reported on May 15.
Archer Wright Joint Venture, which bid $1.15 billion, will build the two main sections of the massive I-26 Connector project, which the NCDOT calls Section B and Section D, according to an NCDOT news release.
The two sections, which the NCDOT collectively calls “the north section,” will involve new bridges over the French Broad River and new sections to connect Interstate 26 above and below Asheville, as well as improvements to Riverside Drive.
Construction could begin this year on both sections, according to the State Transportation Improvement Program, the NCDOT’s long-range planning tool, but the Connector project has been planned and discussed since 1989.
“In short, nothing happens quickly with the project,” Watchdog opined.“As NCDOT buys land for I-26 Connector, negotiation can pay off for property owners,” Watchdog stated, noting that its assertions is backed up by its “analysis.”
The NCDOT noted that the “design-build contract for the planning, design, and construction of the northern section of the I-26 Asheville Connector following decades of planning, discussion, design, public input and official proclamations” will go to Archer-Wright Joint Venture.
The company is a partnership between Archer Western Construction and Wright Brothers Construction Company, with lead engineering from the firm RK&K.
“The Archer-Wright Joint Venture will be responsible for constructing a new network that stretches from Haywood Road across the French Broad River to U.S. 19/23/70 by Broadway Street, and Riverside Drive from Hill Street to Broadway Street,” the release stated.
“Over the next six months, NCDOT and Archer-Wright JV will work on designs to optimize the construction plan and reduce the cost for the project.
”The part of the I-26 Connector also will “transform vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian access to and through downtown Asheville,” the release added, as it will remove interstate traffic from the Capt. Jeff Bowen bridges leading in and out of downtown.
The Bowen bridges now carry I-26 and I-240 across the French Broad River just west of downtown, and it does not meet interstate design standards, the NCDOT said.
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