RALEIGH - N.C. Department of Transportation
Secretary
Gene Conti has awarded a contract to improve 1.5 miles of West Main Street
(N.C. 88) in Jefferson from N.C. 194 to South Main Street (U.S. 221 Business).
The $3.6 million contract was
awarded to Watson Contracting Inc. of Franklin. Work can begin as early as Feb.
27 and is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 1, 2013.
This project includes realigning and improving the intersection of N.C. 88/N.C.
194.
A half-mile of N.C. 88 will be widened from two to three
lanes from Lawson Lane to South Main Street, and the entire 1.5-mile stretch
also will be resurfaced.
The project also
includes replacing a culvert over Little Buffalo Creek, as well as installing new
signals. When necessary, an off-site detour route will be set up. Heading west
out of Jefferson, traffic can take South Main Street to N.C. 194, with eastbound
traffic taking the reverse.
This is one of 39
contracts totaling $203.2 million awarded by Conti for highway and bridge
projects across North Carolina. NCDOT awarded the contracts to the lowest
bidders, as required by state law. The bids received on the projects awarded
came in about 2.9 percent, or about $6.2 million, below NCDOT estimates.
Since Gov. Bev
Perdue took office in January of 2009, NCDOT has awarded 511 highway contracts
totaling $3.8 billion to ensure that all North Carolinians have access to jobs
and educational opportunities.
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.