Asheville – The City of Asheville’s Assistant Director of Transportation, Jessica Morriss, reminded the council that, “The city has a long history of working with the NCDOT on the I-26 Connector project, including many phases of planning, alternatives, review, community involvement, and environmental review.” In the latest news, the NCDOT had put work through Asheville out to bid in 2023, but all the bids came back over budget.
Instead of rebidding, the NCDOT opened a Best and Final Offer process and awarded the bid to Archer-Wright JV. The DOT then collaborated with them and city staff for eight months to downsize the project. This process is known as Optimization and Refinement (O&R). With almost daily meetings, they identified 30-40 opportunities, weighing the pros and cons.
Morriss assured the council that the bike lanes and pedestrian pathways would remain untouched, as would the aesthetic elements that city representatives and the DOT had previously agreed to include in the design. The latest changes reduce the amount of materials used and were achieved by “removing some lanes, removing some bridges, lowering some bridges and retaining walls, and removing redundant off-ramps.” Particular elements she believed would please the council included the lowering and/or elimination of retaining walls by Hillcrest and the separation of traffic on Patton Avenue east of the Bowen Bridge and the interstate.
Moving forward, the city has created a team that will meet with the DOT frequently over several more months to complete the design process. Representatives will be drawn from Planning and Urban Design, Transportation, Water Resources, Public Works, Community and Economic Development, Community and Public Engagement, and other departments as needed.
Nathan Moneyham with the NCDOT stated that the DOT had, of course, shifted its priorities, as had the city, for hurricane recovery. The recovery is ongoing, but the DOT also has obligations to meet its long-term plans.
Moneyham noted that reviewers examined all the lanes in the project and narrowed them whenever codes and safety concerns allowed. Simpler, less material-intensive lane routings replaced some of the elaborate flyovers in spaghetti junction bridges, and some connections were eliminated. The latter simply means drivers will have to go to the next exit, but it reduced the amount of right-of-way negotiations the DOT will have to perform.
By relocating a proposed roundabout for Hillcrest down the road and to the other side of the river, they were able to avoid a significant amount of fill. For example, the new bridge will now be near the old bridge, eliminating the need for extensive grading and allowing Hill Street to remain at its current elevation instead of rising to 25 feet.
In some instances, the collaborators agreed not to replace existing materials and structures. Upgrades to bridges on Broadway will be deferred, and some rails on the Bowen Bridge will not be replaced. Changes made to the deck overlay material on the Bowen Bridge are also expected to go unnoticed. The bridge’s visible rails will be replaced, and “the planters and all things committed to in the state’s documents” will be provided. Of the 30-40 findings, “There are a lot that never got off the ground because we didn’t agree,” said Moneyham.
He stated that the O&R process saved the city $125 million, with $63 million in bridge reductions, $26 million in retaining wall elimination, $24 million in paving, and $7 million in earthwork. The DOT is continuing to seek cost-saving opportunities in construction through scheduling optimization, traffic redirection measures, and more. With less construction, the project may also be completed on schedule. Right-of-way acquisitions will begin this fall, utility relocation will start in spring 2026, and construction will commence in fall 2026 with an estimated completion date of 2031.
Councilwoman Kim Roney inquired if and when community input would be sought regarding these revisions. Moneyham responded that all commitments made by the DOT to communities remain intact concerning federal requirements. Additionally, the DOT will soon schedule open houses as early as next month.
“So many people in our community have advocated for betterments and improvements and mitigation, and so many times we heard, ‘Wait for design-build, and then you’ll be able to see hopefully some improvements.’ A reduced footprint is anticipated to have a positive impact on human experience but also on our ecosystem impact? It would help if we had some way to touch back on this,” said Roney.