ASHEVILLE — The lights will be bright on the Bowen Bridges.
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will begin night-work to improve the riding surface of the Bowen Bridges on Sept. 10.
More than 30 years have elapsed since the bridges received a new surface.
“They’ll begin by milling off the top of the bridge deck and then they’ll replace it with a new polymer concrete,” Division 13 Construction Engineer Randy McKinney said. “It’s a new product that allows crews to cover twice as much area as the traditional procedure.”
Crews from Southern Road and Bridge out of Tarpon Springs, Fla., will begin working at 7 p.m. each night by closing at least one lane, and all lanes will reopen before 6 a.m. each morning.
“This new concrete can set up in about 90 minutes,” McKinney said. “That means we can get the lanes back open for the morning commute. In the end, it’s going to be a nice, new surface everybody will enjoy.”
All exits off the Bowen Bridges will remain open and the work is being done at night to limit traffic backups. Crews will also perform upgrades under the bridge to repair joints and columns that will not impact traffic.
Contract details call for the repaving project to be completed by Oct. 15 and all underside work to be done by August of 2019.
The Bowen Bridges carry local traffic to and from downtown Asheville, as well as Interstate 26 and I-240 traffic. The upgrades will keep the Bowen Bridges in good condition for 20-30 years no matter how they are incorporated into the I-26 Connector project.