ASHEVILLE – The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract for construction of the southern section of the Interstate 26 Asheville Connector, which runs from the Smokey Park Highway interchange on I-40 to the I-26 interchange.
Archer-Wright Joint Venture, which also earned a contract for the northern section of the Connector in May, earned this contract for $105 million as the lowest qualified bidder. This project will help to alleviate congestion in the area, increase the service life of the roadway, and provide better access to western Buncombe County.
This contract includes rehabilitation to the concrete pavement on I-40 at Exit 44 and separating the off-ramp into Exit 44A and Exit 44B — one for traffic heading east on Patton Avenue and another for traffic heading west on Smokey Park Highway. There will also be widening, and upgrades made to the interchange from I-40 East to I-26 East.
Construction may start as early as late August. The contract calls for completion in the fall of 2028. Once crews are ready to begin, motorists will quickly begin seeing lane reductions and traffic shifts in that area.
NCDOT will work closely with Archer-Wright to notify the public of any major closures during construction.
The third contract, for the western section of the Connector — the stretch from I-26 to Haywood Road and improvements to Brevard and Amboy roads — is scheduled to go out for bidding in 2025.
Upon completion of the three sections, the entirety of the new I-26 Connector will be a median-divided freeway, accessible only by interchanges.