ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The completion date for the widening and other improvements of I-26 between the Asheville I-26 and I-40 interchange and the Asheville Regional Airport now “is expected in January 2027.”

The revised I-26 widening completition date was announced by Nathan Moneyham, area construction engineer for the N.C. Department of Transporation, during the Jan. 9 breakfast meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners at UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center.

With construction starting in October 2019, the original completition date for the I-26 segment from Asheville to Hendersonville was “sometime in 2024.”

However, AI Overview noted on Jan. 10 that “project scope changes (like adding the Exit 35 interchange) have extended the timeline, with current estimates pushing completion into 2027 or later, especially with the Asheville Connector section....”

Meanwhile, with meeting time running short after French Broad River MPO Director Tristan Winkler’s earlier lengthy presentation, Moneyham, the second and last speaker at the CIBO meeting, gave a rapid-fire area road construction update in about eight minutes and then fielded questions for another eight minutes. (A separate tory on Winkler’s address appears on Page A3 of this edition.)

Also, Moneyham noted that the “next project we (NCDOT) have that is active and very visible is replacing the concrete and pavement on I-40 Exit 46-A to the I-26 East widening. For that project, the completion date is March 2029, he said.

He added that the “next piece of the I-26 connector is the widening of I-240 from I-26/40 interchange to Haywood Road. Mainly, there’s utility relocation in progress. The completion date is probably 2031.This project is about $300 million.”

What’s more, the segment from Haywood Road up to Broadway Street and then across the French Broad River is under contract for $1.14 billion — “for $124 million in savings,” the NCDOT construction engineer said. 

“Right of way plans are approved. We’re preparing final plans. We are actively buying right of way along the entire corridor. Construction expected to begin in summer 2026,” Moneyham stated. “Completition date is fall 2031”.

During a question-and-answer session that followed, an unidentified man asked about the status of the Sweeten Creek Road widening project

Moneyham replied, “It’s just a ‘future project,’ but no funding has been approved.” 

To the contrary, the same man said, “I was under the understanding that, while the widening from Mills Gap Road to Haywood Road was not set, that the Sweeten Creek Road segment widening from Mills Gap to Rock Hill Road was “money in the bank.”

At that point, Moneyham referred the question to Winkler, who said the Sweeten Creel Road segment widening from Mills Gap Road to Rock Hill Road section was later defunded, so neither section is funded.

Another unidentified man asked about the impact (on Western North Carolina) from Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 27, 2024 — how much has been completed on repairs?

Moneyham answered that “about 80 percent is completed. A lot has been accomplished. For the state, it is about $5.75 billion for NCDOT repairs.”

A unidentified woman asked about the segment of Sweeten Creek Road widening later “getting defunded … How can we get that ‘re-funded?’ We really need this stuff.”

Speaking as an engineer, Moneyham replied as follows:

“It’s all data-driven… From a standpoint from across the state, the needs are significant....”

An unidentified NCDOT official at the meeting added the following, 

“ Revenue for transportation funding is pretty even, while costs are rising. The needs are great. We (North Carolina) now are the 10th-largest state in the nation….We hear your concerns….”