From Staff Reports

Bids for the main sections of the I-26 Connector in Buncombe County are at least $184 million higher than the projected cost of $915.8 million, according to North Carolina Department of Transportation documents, likely delaying the project and pushing its price higher, the website Asheville Watchdog reported on Feb. 22.

The bids were opened Feb. 20 in Raleigh and were live-streamed by NCDOT, the website noted, adding, “The bids were for the two main sections of the project, which NCDOT calls Section B and Section D. These sections will involve new bridges over the French Broad River and new sections of interstate to connect Interstate 26 above and below Asheville, as well as improvements to Riverside Drive.”

Meanwhile, the Daily Planet reached out to David Uchiyama, NCDOT’s communications officer, for further comment on Feb. 23.

Uchiyama responded immediately and emailed the following statement on behalf of NCDOT: 

“Thank you for your interest in the I-26 Connector North Section bid opening. All three bids opened on Feb. 20 came in higher than expected and not within the acceptable range of the NCDOT’s engineer’s estimate.

 â€œThe bids were as follows: Flatiron-United-BDC JV: $1,898,241,788; Archer-Wright JV: $1,103,736,000; Balfour-Beatty Infrastructure, Inc: $1,317,700,000

 â€œAs the design-build process allows, the department intends to work with all three contractors to get their best and final offers on the project. 

“And a follow-up answer: NCDOT will release the engineer’s estimate upon completion of the procurement process.”

“All three bids opened on Feb. 20 came in higher than expected and not within the acceptable range of the NCDOT’s engineer’s estimate,” NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama said via email, the Asheville Watchdog noted. 

“The NCDOT would not provide the engineer’s estimate,” the website added. “NCDOT’s official page for the project lists the cost for the entire project, which has five sections, at $1.2 billion.” (A recording of the livestream is not available, according to NCDOT.)

“Obviously, there’s just some steps here the department is trying to figure out, and we’re trying to figure out, too,” Kevin Ott, with Archer-Wright Joint Venture and the person listed as the contact on the company’s bid, told Asheville Watchdog. He added that bidding exceeding estimates like in this case is not the “typical practice.”

The website sought comment from Flatiron-United-BDC Joint Venture and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, but did not receive responses by the time of its story’s Feb. 22 publication.

While the engineer’s estimate is not available, the Connector project is listed on the State Transportation Improvement Program with information about the sections’ “remaining project costs.”

Section B of the I-26 Connector project “involves building an interstate roadway, on a new location, from the Haywood Road interchange (Exit 2) north across the French Broad River and then tying into U.S. 19/23/70 south of Broadway,” the Asheville Watchdog noted. “This section includes multiple bridges and has (had) a projected cost of $884.3 million, according to the STIP.”