Seventy-seven bridges in 17 of North Carolina’s rural counties are scheduled to be replaced thanks, in part, to a $20 million BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant awarded to the N.C. Department of Transportation in December 2018 by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The overall cost of the replacements is projected at $119.1 million, with the State Highway Bridge Fund paying for 58 of the structures and the BUILD grant covering the cost of replacing 19 weight-restricted bridges.
Many of the locations are in areas with major agriculture and agribusiness interests, which will benefit from new bridges.
Bridges were selected based on whether the current structure was constraining travel through the area because of its condition or weight restrictions, if it was in an area of agricultural production, and whether there were limited options for funding its replacement.