I-26 Connector Asheville section contract awarded, estimated to cost over $1 billion

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times
·2 min read
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ASHEVILLE - The contract for the I-26 Connector section that runs through Asheville has been awarded, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced May 15.

The Interstate-26 Connector project is a $1.3 billion N.C. Department of Transportation project designing a median-divided freeway, accessible only by interchanges, that will connect I-26 in southwest Asheville to U.S. 19/23/70 throughout northwest Asheville.
The Interstate-26 Connector project is a $1.3 billion N.C. Department of Transportation project designing a median-divided freeway, accessible only by interchanges, that will connect I-26 in southwest Asheville to U.S. 19/23/70 throughout northwest Asheville.

Archer-Wright Joint Venture was selected for the design-build contract for Section B of the I-26 Connector project, which runs from Haywood Road in West Asheville and crosses the French Broad to connect to U.S. 19/23/70 and U.S. 240. Archer-Wright has also worked on the I-26 widening project south of Asheville.

The joint venture that won the project includes Archer Western, Wright Brothers Construction and civil engineering firm RK&K. The companies were able to negotiate the award in a competitive bidding process that saw competition from Balfour-Beatty Joint Venture and Flatiron Construction and United Infrastructure Joint Venture.

NCDOT Division 13 Construction Engineer Nathan Moneyham said the contract will allow NCDOT to work directly with the contractors to optimize the construction plan and reduce the cost of the project. NCDOT said they expect this process to occur over the next six months.

“This is a big milestone because we now have the opportunity to work directly with Archer-Wright to identify and evaluate ways to reduce project costs so that the project can be delivered,” Moneyham wrote in the release, noting the undefined will "benefit not just those that’ll use the interstate corridor traveling through Asheville, but those that live here."

Archer-Wright's final bid was for $1.14 billion, which is above an earlier estimate of $915 million for Section B. However, Section B recently saw a new engineer estimate, which set the price of the section at $1.06 billion.

“The main features in this north section of the connector will be a new interchange at Patton Avenue, a new bridge over the French Broad River and a new bridge at Broadway Street,” Moneyham wrote in the news release. “These improvements will address numerous operational issues we all experience when it comes to safety and congestion in this area.”

This section also includes letting for Section D, which will provide improvements to Riverside Drive from Hill Street to Broadway Street, according to the NCDOT website.

The Citizen Times reached out to Archer Western for comment May 15.

This story will be updated.

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: I-26 Connector Asheville section contract awarded: Who got it?