I-26 Connector: NCDOT updates Asheville City Council on progress, costs

ASHEVILLE - At a "milestone" moment for the Interstate-26 Connector project, poised to be among the most consequential in Asheville's history, the N.C. Department of Transportation offered updates to City Council June 25, including the status of a unique "optimization and refinement" process working to drive down contract costs that came in much higher than expected.

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

Once complete, the freeway would be part of I-26, which extends from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Charleston, South Carolina.

What's the status of each section?

NCDOT Division 13 Construction Engineer Nathan Moneyham broke down the five sections of the project, with current status, funding and next steps.

I-2513 AA/AB (South Section)

• Delivery method: Bid build, which means NCDOT has completed the design, is acquiring right-of-way and moving utilities.
• Schedule: Out for bid July 2024. Anticipated completion in May 2029.
• Scope:
• Replacement of existing concrete pavement on I-240 from Monte Vista Road to Sand Hill Road.
• New I-40 westbound off-ramp for Smokey Park Highway.
• Widening of existing I-40 eastbound to I-26 eastbound ramp to two lanes.

• Current funding:

• $2.3 million for right-of-way.
• $94.6 million for construction.

"From an active work standpoint, it will be the first thing you see," Moneyham said. "We expect (it) later this year.

I-2512 AC (West Section)

• Delivery method: Bid build.
• Schedule: Out for bid November 2025. Anticipated completion in August 2031.
• Scope:
• Widening of I-26/I-240 from I-26/I-40/I-240 interchange to Haywood Road from four to six lanes.
• Split interchange for Brevard Road and Amboy Road.

• Current funding:

• $43.4 million for right-of-way.
• $217.4 million for construction.

I-2513 C (I-40/I-26 Interchange)

• The remaining section of the I-2513 project will address the final improvements to the I-40/I-26 interchange.
• It still needs to be fully funded, Moneyham said. Currently, it's funded for preliminary engineering only.
• Estimated cost: $284 million for right-of-way and construction.

I-2512 B/D (North Section)

This is the largest portion of the project, Moneyham said, and what most people think of when they picture the project.

• Delivery method: Design build, which means the contract awarded is not only for construction, but for finished design, right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation.
• Schedule: Awarded May 2024. Anticipated completion in October 2031.
• Scope:
• Widening of I-26/I-240 from four- to six-lanes from Haywood Road to Patton Avenue.
• Haywood and Broadway Road interchange improvements.
• Improvements to Riverside Drive (the D section).
• New location interstate for I-26 and I-26/I-240 interchange, across the French Broad River.

• Current funding:

• $174.6 million for right-of-way.
• $27.9 million utility relocation.
• $825.8 million construction.

What's happening now?

The procurement process for the north section began in January 2023. Three shortlisted teams competed for the project. Bids opened in February 2024, but all came in above the estimated cost of the project. No award was made.

For a design-build, when that happens after a yearlong procurement process, "our standard policy allows us to go back to those three teams and secure their best and final offer," Moneyham said. That process began in March.

Ultimately, NCDOT awarded the design-build contract in May to Archer-Wright Joint Venture, with a $1.14 billion bid.

As part of its optimization and refinement process, developed as part of the new bids, over the next six months, NCDOT and Archer-Wright will work on designs to optimize the construction plan and reduce the cost for the project. This means finding "scope reductions" and "construction efficiencies" while maintaining the project's necessary functions.

Moneyham said, "key" elements of the project will remain, including:

• Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision commitments, the documents that encompass the last 30 years of coordination and both environmental and community commitments.
• Aesthetic treatments agreed to with the city.
• Separation of I-26 and Patton avenue traffic.
• Maintain pedestrian and cyclist connections developed through preliminary plans.

Next steps?

• NCDOT will continue to work with the design-build team to create a more "efficient and optimally priced project."
• Coordination with local stakeholders.
• At the end of the optimization period, a new contract amount will be agreed on, and work on final design and construction of the project can begin.
• In the event that enough cost reductions are not identified, the contract may be terminated, and a new procurement process would be determined.

"I will say, we feel very confident in our ability to meet our goals from a cost perspective," Moneyham said. Of possible termination, he said, "We do not expect that to be the case."

Council member Maggie Ullman commended the department for the steps it was taking to bring the bid costs down.

"I think you've gotten to a place where we don't have to start over, and that it's very explicitly clear that the huge amount of community collaboration that we have all gone through over the last decades, that stuff is not getting value engineered out of this. The major commitments and goals that we've worked on for the connector section are going to stay intact."

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.