34 Contracts Totaling More Than $107 Million Awarded for Highway Projects Across North Carolina (Press Release)
Includes 13 funded through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that 34 contracts totaling more than $107 million have been awarded for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina, including 13 projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contracts were awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. A list of projects is attached.
“In the new year, recovery dollars will continue to help us improve our transportation infrastructure while providing jobs to North Carolinians,” Perdue said.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, every $1 million spent on transportation creates 30 jobs, and according to the construction industry, every dollar invested in transportation generates $6 in economic impact.
The 13 recovery projects are located in Alamance, Bertie, Buncombe, Franklin, Granville, Guilford, Lee, Nash, Person, Rockingham, Stanly, Wake and Wilson counties. The 21 other projects are located in Buncombe, Burke, Caswell, Catawba, Cleveland, Cherokee, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Harnett, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Person, Rockingham, Rutherford, Sampson, Wake and Yancey counties. See the attached list for start dates.
The bids received on all 34 projects advertised came in 15 percent, or about $19 million, below NCDOT estimates.
Four additional projects were either rejected or delayed.
The bids on a recovery project to preserve several bridges located on Interstate 40 and I-240 in Asheville exceeded the NCDOT engineer’s estimate by more than 10 percent and were rejected. The project will be bundled with a future project in an effort to reduce costs and will be rebid at a later date.
A project to build bridges over Austin Creek and Smith’s Creek in Wake County was withdrawn to allow NCDOT engineers to amend the proposal. The project will be rebid in January.
The award of two projects to replace fender systems on two bridges over the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Brunswick and Carteret counties has been delayed due to concerns regarding materials specified for use on the projects. It is anticipated that a decision regarding the awarding of these projects will be made next week.
For more information about funding for infrastructure improvements in North Carolina, as well as other NCDOT projects and activities, visit www.ncdot.gov.
Click here for the December Project List.
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