SHELBY -The N.C.
Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to begin construction
on a new weigh station off Interstate 85 northbound in Gaston County.
The new 3,422-square-foot
facility will be built about two miles south of Bessemer City from Crowders
Mountain Road to Edgewood Road.
The $19,732,258 contract for
the project includes construction of the truck scale building and booth, as
well as grading, drainage and paving around the new facility. Sloan
Construction, a division of Reeves Construction Company, was awarded the
contract.
Once completed, the new weigh
station will have space for five offices, three unisex restrooms, as well as a lobby
with vending area for truck drivers. The existing weigh station on I-85
northbound about 10 miles southwest of Charlotte will close after the new
facility opens.
Work on the project can begin
in late April, with all work except vegetation establishment completed by
November 2016.
To help keep traffic flowing
smoothly during construction, no lane closures are allowed on I-85 northbound
from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition, all ramps on I-85 must remain open from 5
a.m. to midnight.
This is one of the 25 road and bridge contracts
worth $71 million recently awarded by NCDOT for projects across North Carolina.
The contracts were awarded to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The
low bids received on the projects were 1.2 percent, or $845,000 below NCDOT
estimates.