Bypass will be complete in 2016
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 15, 2015 1:50 AM
The western leg of the new U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass is expected to be carrying traffic by this summer and the entire 20-mile, $246 million road is expected to be finished by early next year.
When completed it will stretch from U.S. 70 just west of N.C. 581 in Wayne County to U.S. 70 just east of Promise Land Road in Lenoir County.
The road is being built in three sections.
The first 3.9-mile section of the bypass, designated as N.C. 44, opened to traffic in December 2011 from I-795 to Wayne Memorial Drive north of Goldsboro. Once the east and west sections are complete, this section will be designated as the U.S. 70 Bypass.
There are interchanges at I-795, U.S. 117 (North William Street) and Wayne Memorial Drive.
Currently, the western section is ahead of schedule, but the eastern leg is lagging behind schedule because of wet condition and other issues including utility conflicts, state Department of Transportation officials said.
The entire western section of the bypass has a layer of asphalt pavement.
A $62.4 million contract was awarded to S.T. Wooten for construction of this 5.9-mile section between U.S. 70 west of Goldsboro to I-795.
Interchanges will be built at U.S. 70 and N.C. 581.
"We are currently planning to sign this section as the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass and not N.C. 44 because there will be such a short time between the time this opens and the time that the final section opens," said Jennifer G. Heiss, communications officer for DOT Divisions One and Four.
A $104.4 million design-build contract was awarded to Barnhill Contracting Co. for the 12.5-mile eastern section of the bypass.
Interchanges will be constructed at U.S. 13, Parkstown Road and U.S. 70. This project is currently scheduled to be completed by early 2016.
"Approximately one-third of the project has been paved at this time," Mrs. Heiss said. "The focus of construction this year is the completion of the remaining bridges on the project and the placement of approximately 200,000 tons of stone and nearly as much asphalt pavement.
"It is anticipated that the tie-in at U.S. 70 will be constructed this spring. When this is under way, motorists will begin to see changes in the traffic pattern at this location. Upon completion of this section of the bypass, the central section will be resigned and the entire U.S. 70 Bypass will be complete."
During the recent announcement of the county's plan to build an agriculture/convention center on Wayne Memorial Drive, county and city official said the bypass will play an important role in the project.
The center would be located next to Wayne Community College and less than a mile south of the new bypass. Plans call for four-laning Wayne Memorial Drive all the way to the bypass.
"I don't think the convention center being built will slow that down," City Manager Scott Stevens said. "If anything, it could help accelerate that. We will certainly share with DOT what our thoughts are.
"As the county secures the funding (for the center) we will be pressuring DOT to accelerate their plans so that hopefully they could be widening Wayne Memorial at the same time the convention center is being built and by the time you get done you would have both at the same time. U.S. 70 will be open in a year to a year and a half."
The Wayne Memorial project is included in the current draft State Transportation Improvement Program which is expected to be finalized this summer.
"It includes widening Wayne Memorial from New Hope Road to the U.S. 70 Bypass," Mrs. Heiss said. "Right of way is currently projected for 2022 with construction scheduled to begin in 2024. The estimated cost at this time is $10.6 million.
"We don't have a lot of details on this project at this time, as it is still in the planning phase."