SALISBURY - The North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded the contract for the final stage of the I-85 widening project.
It is paying $108 million to complete the last six miles of the job between exit 63 in Kannapolis and the US 29 interchange in China Grove.
Finishing up that stretch includes modifying the N.C. 152 and US 29 interchange, as well as replacing two bridges on N.C. 152 over the railway.
“Once complete the project will improve safety and provide congestion relief for motorists on I-85 for years to come,” said Division 9 Engineer Pat Ivey.
Work could start as soon as the end of March and possibly be done by December 2018.
Crews have been working for months to widen I-85 in Cabarrus County. It has been frustrating for commuters, but NC DOT officials say the construction will be worth it.
Alton Scott knows his daily commute from Rowan County to Charlotte is taking more time than it used to.
“A 45 minute drive usually takes me about two hours and 10 minutes,” said Scott.
NC DOT is working from exit 55 to exit 63 in Cabarrus County to add two lanes in each direction. Now, the new project will keep that expansion going.
"To put improvements in place, there's always some pain, we have to slow the speeds for the safety of the workers and the folks in those corridors doing the job and that creates more congestion, but that's just the price we pay to try and get the project done,” said Ned Curran, Board Chair of NC DOT.
Officials say construction will start in December on the next six miles north of exit 63. But, some commuters say they’re ready for it all to be finished.
"I think they've been trying to remove the bottleneck for long enough, I suggest they get on with their work so other people can get to and from their jobs,” said Scott.
NC DOT officials say the goal is to expand to four lanes in each direction by December 0f 2018.
"They have a real aggressive schedule trying to get this thing open quickly,” said Keith Raulston, a Construction Engineer for Division 9.
With two separate widening projects going on at the same time, officials say they’ll do their best to ease traffic as they expand lanes.
"Probably going to be some of that as it goes along we're going to maintain two lanes of traffic then try not to impact the motorist but there will be some impact,” said Raulston.
The design process for the expansion is set to start at the end of this month.