Raleigh – Six companies were in the mix when the first round of Corridor K letting took place Aug. 16.
Just two pitches were received for the second segment – and for good reason: it is the most daunting task in the process.
At an estimate of $83,824,722.24, phase two of the Corridor K improvements in Graham County will cover 3.911 miles, from Beech Creek Road (N.C. 143) to ½-mile north of the Appalachian Trail crossing at Stecoah Gap.
The rugged terrain will be constructed by Sevierville, Tenn.-based Charles Blalock & Sons Inc., which beat out Wright Brothers Construction Co. Inc. of Charleston, Tenn. Charles Blalock & Sons Inc.’s bid was $116,407,729.70 – or 38.9 percent above the estimate – with Wright Brothers’ submitting a bid of $130,012,832.96 – or 55.1 percent higher.
The bids were unsealed Sept. 20, by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Phase two of the long-discussed improvements – first conceived during the Johnson Administration by the Appalachian Development Highway System, in 1965 – will ultimately improve draining, grading and paving along the nearly 4-mile strip of N.C. 143.
The entirety of the three-step project will also include alternating passing lanes, but only the second phase will implement the crafting of a $5 million land bridge – which will cross over N.C. 143 at Stecoah Gap to allow hikers and wildlife alike from the Appalachian Trail to safely cross over the roadway. N.C. 143 will also see the expansion to four lanes within the vicinity of the land bridge.
Phase one was awarded to Franklin-based Watson Contracting Inc. on Aug. 16, which bid $47.5 million (just 1.9-percent higher) than the estimated $46,624,005.25 price tag. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first phase has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Robbinsville High School.
“Letting” – or the unsealing and acceptance of bids – for phase three will be held Tuesday, Oct. 18.
The final phase will continue across N.C. 143 to its terminus with N.C. 28, before turning right and following the roadway to the beginning of four-lane traffic flow at Wolf Creek General Store. The 5.4-mile improvement comes with an estimated cost of $32.9 million.
History
“Corridor K” was the name given to a plan to expand roadways from Interstate 75 in Cleveland, Tenn., to Dillsboro. Much of U.S. 74 was given a facelift in the process, as well as N.C. 28 from its departure off 74 in Almond to Wolf Creek – which is a roughly 10-mile strip of four-lane highway.
However, the project stalled in the 1990s after opposition from environmental advocates about plans to tunnel through mountains near Stecoah. Decades later, a compromise was reached when interest in finishing the project was resurrected by the DOT’s Division 14 engineers in 2015: the aforementioned land bridge.
A 2019 report from the Cherokee Scout noted that while the expansion would not fulfill the original vision of navigating through Tatham Gap to rejoin the four-lane U.S. 74, plans were moving forward.
Division 14 officials landed on an alternate plan for the Graham County improvements and held two separate public hearings for feedback on the alterations in October 2020. Instead of a four-lane expansion throughout the county, officials have now forecasted alternating three-lane segments, to allow more vehicles to pass slower traffic on the steep grades across N.C. 143.
Lanes will be widened to 12 feet in Stecoah – with adjoining 10-foot shoulders – and the road will expand to four lanes at Stecoah Gap, where the land bridge will reach over the roadway. A tiered retaining wall with foliage will also be placed at the gap.
Closer to Robbinsville, sidewalks will be installed from the Robbinsville High School entrance to the intersection of N.C. 143 with U.S. 129. All told, nine residences and five businesses will have to re-locate because of the project.
From there, improvements from Robbinsville to Andrews in Cherokee County – where Corridor K will be connected with U.S. 74 once again – are unfunded and thus, still unclear on how they will proceed.