Duplin road work to begin March 22
By Staff Reports
Published in News on February 24, 2010 1:46 PM
Barnhill Contracting Co. of Tarboro will resurface 20 miles of Interstate 40, from mile market 369 in Duplin County to mile marker 389 in Pender County.
The road improvement project is one of 43 contracts for highway and bridge work across the state awarded last week by Gov. Bev Perdue.
Work is scheduled to begin as early as March 22, with final completion no later than Nov. 18, 2011, according to a statement from the Department of Transportation.
Gov. Bev Perdue announced the $138.3 million in funding for state road improvements, including 12 projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, last Thursday.
"These projects will make a difference to the lives of North Carolinians by creating or sustaining jobs vital to our economy and improving transportation infrastructure critical to commerce in our state," Mrs. Perdue said in a statement.
The state Department of Transportation awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders, as required by N.C. law, except for one project that was awarded to the second lowest bidder due to a cap on small business earnings.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, every $1 million spent on transportation creates 30 jobs, and according to the construction industry, every dollar invested in transportation generates $6 in economic impact.
Lenoir, Jackson and Pitt County were among the other 42 counties awarded contracts.
The NCDOT rejected bids on two projects, one in Bertie County and one in Cherokee County, because the bids were more than 10 percent above the department's estimates. Those contracts will be re-advertised next month.
The bids received on all 45 of the projects came in about $18.4 million, or 11 percent, below NCDOT estimates.
Barnhill Contracting Co. also received in December a state contract to complete $8.4 million in road repairs in Duplin and Sampson County.