RALEIGH - A section of N.C. 86/Columbia
Street in Chapel Hill will be enhanced for general traffic, buses, bicycles and
pedestrians, thanks to a $4.56 million contract approved by N.C. Department of
Transportation Secretary Gene Conti.
Triangle Grading
& Paving Inc. of Burlington was awarded the contract.
The project
maintains the character of Chapel Hill, adding sidewalks on both sides of the
street and bike lanes. The street will remain a single lane in each direction
with the addition of a center turn lane and bus pullouts to improve traffic
flow. The new 0.8-mile project is expected to begin on Nov. 26, with
completion by July 2014.
During six months of the project, between April and September 2013,
traffic will be one-way on Columbia Street, with traffic going northbound from
Fordham Boulevard toward Manning Drive. Outbound traffic will be detoured onto
Manning Drive.
This
is one of 15 contracts totaling $73.6 million awarded by Conti in October 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 9.1 percent, or $7.4 million, below NCDOT
estimates.
Since
Gov. Bev Perdue took office in January of 2009, NCDOT has awarded 727 highway
contracts totaling $5 billion to ensure that all North Carolinians have access
to jobs and educational opportunities. Gov. Perdue continues to support
immediate jobs in the construction sector and the goal of ensuring that our
transportation network facilitates access to jobs, education and healthcare for
the future.
U-0624
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