Press release from the N.C. Department of Transportation:

SHELBY – The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded an $11.4 million contract to replace 11 bridges in Buncombe, Madison and Mitchell counties.

Dane Construction Inc., of Mooresville, was awarded the contract for the bridge replacements. Work can begin as soon as Aug. 25, with completion of all 11 bridges scheduled for November 2017.

Bridges that will be replaced in this project are:

Buncombe County:

  • Bridge on Bear Creek Road over Turkey Creek, built in 1963 and considered functionally obsolete
  • Bridge on Willow Creek Road over Willow Creek, built in 1962 and considered functionally obsolete
  • Two bridges on Surrett Cove Road over Bald Fork, both built in 1940 and one of which is considered functionally obsolete

Madison County:

  • Bridge on Whitt Branch Road over Little Ivy Creek, built in 1959
  • Bridge on Big Laurel Road over Laurel Creek, built in 1962 and considered structurally deficient
  • Bridge on Sprinkle Creek Road over California Creek, built in 1970 and considered structurally deficient

Mitchell County:

  • Bridge on Pigeon Roost Road over Pigeon Roost Creek, built in 1967 and considered structurally deficient
  • Bridge on N.C. 226 over Spring Creek, which was built in 1940
  • Bridge on Bear Creek Road over Bear Creek, which was built in 1951 and is considered functionally obsolete
  • Bridge on Froglevel Road over Little Rock Creek, which was built in 1976 and is considered functionally obsolete

Bridges classified as functionally obsolete and/or structurally deficient are safe for the traveling public. The bridges, however, were built to design standards no longer in use and require costly maintenance to remain functional.

For more details about improving North Carolina’s bridges, visit NCDOT’s bridge information website.

This is one of the 11 road and bridge contracts worth $43.4 million recently awarded by NCDOT for projects across North Carolina. The contracts were awarded to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The low bids received on the projects were 2.8 percent, or about $1.2 million, more than NCDOT estimates.

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Angie Newsome was the executive director and editor of Carolina Public Press. Contact her at (828) 774-5290 or e-mail her at anewsome@carolinapublicpress.org.

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