I-26 Connector Section Bids Show Decrease in Estimated Costs

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials got closer to finding a final contractor for the I-26 Connector section in Asheville. The second-round bids for the project were announced, showing that estimated contractor costs have decreased.

Three contractor bids were opened in February, and now those contractors have released adjusted estimates bringing their proposals closer to the new engineer estimate of $1.06 billion for the Asheville section.

Currently, Archer-Wright JV has the lowest adjusted price at $846 million, but all three bids are under review at this time. The adjusted price reflects the quality of the proposal based on a NCDOT engineer technical score.

Current Bids:

The bids for the north section from the May 7 livestream:

• Archer-Wright JV
  • Adjusted bid: $846,088,541
  • Actual bid: $1,147,238,700
  • Technical score: 92.5
• Balfour Beatty Infrastructure
  • Adjusted bid: $1,103,080,473
  • Actual bid: $1,337,067,240
  • Technical score: 85
• Flatiron United Blythe Joint Venture
  • Adjusted bid: $1,267,704,735
  • Actual bid: $1,760,701,021
  • Technical score: 94

North section sees price increase of nearly $150 million

The total cost of the section, including Section B and Section D of I-26 Connector, has increased to roughly $1.06 billion. The completion date for each bid is set for 2031, according to the bid documents. Additional details on the project will be provided when the contract award is announced.

A recent update in the State Transportation Improvement Program indicates the total funding required for the I-26 Connector project is estimated to be over $1.7 billion.