RALEIGH - N.C. Department of Transportation Secretary
Gene Conti awarded a contract to improve a 3.3 mile stretch of N.C. 18 in North
Wilkesboro from Mountain View Road near CVS Pharmacy to Yellow Banks Road near
the Mulberry Elementary School.
The $8.6 million contract was
awarded to Carl Rose & Sons Inc. of Elkin. Work can begin as early as March
4, 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by March 13, 2016.
The purpose of this project is to
improve safety along this section of N.C. 18, which is the main route between
North Wilkesboro and Sparta. The existing two-lane road will be widened with an
additional center turn lane.
This is one of 14 contracts
totaling $100.8 million awarded by Conti in September 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 11.3 percent, or $12.8 million, below NCDOT estimates.
Since Gov. Bev Perdue took office
in January of 2009, NCDOT has awarded 712 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.