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Work set to start on stretch of U.S. 421
Charlotte company will widen the road
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Published: June 25, 2009
Updated: 06/25/2009 12:55 am
Work on a mile-long stretch of U.S. 421 in Watauga County will begin next month under a contract awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation, officials said yesterday.
Blythe Development Co. of Charlotte was awarded the $15.2 million contract to widen the road from two lanes to four in Boone between Hardin Street and Jefferson Road, the DOT said.
The outside travel lanes will also be wide enough to include bike traffic, and sidewalks will be built along both sides of the highway.
An estimated 45,000 vehicles travel on that stretch of the road a day, the DOT said.
Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The road widening was one of 31 projects statewide totaling $73 million that have been awarded by the state, the DOT said.
Unlike the widening project, most of the others involve resurfacing of roads.
They include a $2.9 million project to resurface roads in Davie County, including seven miles of U.S. 64 in Davie County to just over the Yadkin River bridge in Davidson County; eight miles of U.S. 158 from Peachtree Lane to Oak Grove Church Road; 1.2 miles of U.S. 601/64 in Mocksville; and 3.1 miles of N.C. 801 between Bermuda Run and Hillsdale.
The DOT was also awarded $2.8 million for resurfacing projects in Stokes County, including U.S. 311 near Walnut Cove to the Forsyth County line; 11 miles of N.C. 66 from the Forsyth County line to Moore Springs Road; 1.1 miles of N.C. 89 from N.C. 268 to N.C. 66; and 5.4 miles of N.C. 268 from Pilot Westfield Road to N.C. 66.
The projects are being paid for with federal stimulus money.
"It's projects we've had on the our list for some time but had to be suspended due to the (state budget) shortfall," said Pat Ivey, a division engineer for the DOT.
The projects are all considered "shovel ready," in that all the preliminary environmental and design work has been done and the right-of-way property has been acquired.
■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.
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