Skip to main content

Guess what....I-485 delayed again

Well...one of the blog's favorite theme's from the past year or so is back.

New delays push completion of I-485 further back. Where and how many times have we read that before, eh?

Story in the October 14th Charlotte Observer:
http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/318586.html

Anyways, here's the scoop on the latest section of I-485 to be delayed. The currently under construction six mile section from NC 16 to NC 115 -- including the large interchange with I-77 near Huntersville -- will not be opened until at least late summer of next year (2008). Originally this section was to open this past March, then this coming December, you get the idea.

And like prior delays, there is some bickering between the contractor (this time Skanska USA Civil Southeast) and NCDOT. The issue this time (not signs) but issues on utility relocation and right of way purchases. The contractor contends that the DOT did not acquire all of the right of way. The state freely admits that the relocation of utilities took longer than expected.

As a result, there's still a lot of concrete to be poured. Skanska has recently built a small concrete plant near Vance Road and some work should start soon.

Oh one last thing, if the $96 million project is delayed. There's a $10,000 day fine to the contractor for each day the opening falls late. The DOT hasn't given Skanska any waivers (yet) and pretty much expects that there will be negotiations as to any fines and fees due (if any) and who is at fault for what delays. (Which of course means more blog entries here!)

So there's one good thing, because of the delays..the gap between the completion of I-485 to I-77 and construction of the missing link to I-85 near University (currently scheduled to begin in 2013) will only be about five years vs. six. (Unless that too - as it already has been - gets delayed.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...