Stecoah – If your daily commute includes a trip across Stecoah Gap, chances are you have learned to insert a 20- to 30-minute buffer for your arrival time.
Before earth-moving operations can begin for the long-awaited Corridor K expansion along N.C. 143 (Sweetwater Road) and N.C. 28, Sevierville, Tenn.-based Charles Blalock & Sons, Inc., and Robbinsville’s Adams Contracting have been working in tandem with local crews – such as Graham County Land Company – to meet a deadline of Monday, May 1, to complete all roadside clearing necessary for excavation to commence during the warmer months. The May 1 deadline is to ensure the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s bat moratorium can begin without interruption. The moratorium is in place from May 1 through July 31, as pup-rearing season is at its peak during the timeframe.
In turn, traveling straight through the strip has been impossible. Lane closures have been consistent, with several passengers expressing concerns over the lengthy wait time they often encounter.
N.C. Department of Transportation communications officer David Uchiyama told The Graham Star on March 9 that tree-cutting work is progressing right on schedule.
“Engineers anticipate no issues getting done in time,” he added.
As for the delays commuters are facing, Uchiyama said the contracts stipulate that closures should not exceed 20 minutes.
“The delays are necessary for the safety of both the drivers and the workers,” he said.
During the moratorium, crews will begin earthwork and excavation procedures, pipe installation and retaining-wall construction at various points of the expansion. Uchiyama said culvert placement could also require short-term detours, though it is not clear at this time what those detours will be.
Crunching numbers
Contracts were afforded to Franklin-based Watson Contracting for “Section A” on Aug. 16 ($48,750,475.24, for a 5.9-mile section that stretches from Five Points Road in Robbinsville to the Beech Creek Road/N.C. 143 intersection); and Charles Blalock & Sons on Sept. 20, for “Section B” ($116,407,729.70, for a 3.9-mile section of N.C. 143 that reaches its conclusion at Stecoah Gap, but includes the construction of a $5 million land bridge – the first in North Carolina – which will allow hikers and wildlife from the Appalachian Trail cross the roadway overhead of vehicles).
But “Section C” – which originally was to follow N.C. 143 from Stecoah Gap to its eastern terminus at N.C. 28, before continuing south on N.C. 28 to the four-lane expansion in Wolf Creek – was left hanging.
Set to be awarded Oct. 18, the DOT had to postpone awarding a contract on the final section twice, due to a lack of funding. Estimated to cost $130,606,888, funding quickly dissipated after the first two sections were awarded in the neighborhood of $164 million.
The concluding step was later sub-divided into “Section CC” and “Section CD.” As of Dec. 20, only “CC” had been letted (awarded from bids) – and that went to Adams Contracting, which is responsible for the work from Stecoah Gap to Stecoah Road on N.C. 28, a 2.6-mile portion. The contract was awarded for $67,387,346.29.
“Section CD” is scheduled to undergo letting in October, as the DOT is working to secure more funding.
Uchiyama estimated March 9 that the initial roadside clearing is 100 percent finished for Section A; 75-80 percent complete for Section B; and 70-75 percent accomplished for Section CC.
The total amount of the three contracts awarded thus far is $231,295,075.99 – just over $100 million higher than the original estimate.