Last month, North Carolina’s Turnpike Authority (NCTA) was loaned $499.5 million by the US Department of Transportation for Phase 1 of its Complete 540 Project. This portion of the project includes a 17.1-mile, six-lane extension to Triangle Expressway Toll road.

As USDOT notes, procurement for the project “was split into small segments to provide additional participation opportunities for local design and construction industry, and for contractors of various sizes and resources, including disadvantaged business enterprises.”

That amounted to roughly $80 million in work for DBEs, USDOT said.

The project will be constructed and funded in phases, but overall it’s anticipated to cost around $2.2 billion.

USDOT says that once the project is complete, “, it will improve mobility for trips and reduce forecasted congestion on the existing roadway network in the Project area with substantial reduction in travel times. It will also provide more route choices for those who live, work or travel though the area.”

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation has cited “transportation, social and economic demands and mobility considerations” as reasons for undertaking the massive project. “The Complete 540 project would link Apex, Cary, Clayton, Garner, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs and Raleigh,” NCDOT says.