U.S. Route 70 in North Carolina is getting an upgrade that will bring it up to par with top-notch interstate roadways.

UK-based contractor Balfour Beatty's Southeast U.S. division has won the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) $242m design-build contract to upgrade the Highway 70 corridor, the future Interstate 42, between Raleigh and the Port of Morehead City.

The project includes the upgrading of the 6.4-mile section between the Havelock Bypass and east of Thurman Road in Craven County of North Carolina. It will be aimed at improving mobility and military connectivity, boost economic growth, and increase safety.

Initially, the project cost was estimated at $275 million. However, Balfour Beatty came up with an alternative design proposal that slashed the cost of project delivery by 14%.

This is one of several projects that Balfour Beatty is working on for NCDOT. The US 70 Havelock Bypass and US 70 James City projects are ongoing projects, which began in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Contractor News had previously reported that North Carolina is set to receive a total of $1.4 billion for bridges and highways. The motorists and citizens of the state can see a lot of improvement and construction works happening. This project is a new feather in the hat of the Old North State.

According to NCDOT, US 70 is one of three corridors where upgrades would help economic development in eastern North Carolina's predominantly rural districts. This project was also designated as a high priority in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015.

The project's major goal is to replace driveways, intersecting streets, and crossings on a 6.4-mile stretch of road with three interchanges and local road connections.

The project will commence later this year and is anticipated to finish by 2028.

Mark Johnnie, the senior vice president of Southeast Civil Operations, Balfour Beatty, said, "We look forward to building on our more than 20-year relationship with NCDOT and the opportunity to help the state achieve its long-term transportation needs in its growing communities." 

Cadmus Capehart, the NCDOT division 2 construction engineer, said, " The division looks forward to working with Balfour Beatty on another Interstate 70/Future I-42 project. They are currently upgrading 170 to Interstate standards in James City and on the Havelock Bypass project. We are excited about getting underway on the section that will connect the two."

Lately, the company has announced a series of wins.

Balfour Beatty recently announced they were constructing an 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel. The property's preliminary site preparation is already underway, and the vertical construction is scheduled to begin this year and end in 2025. The estimated project cost is $362 million.

The company won seven projects on the West Coast as well. In 2022 these projects were worth $235 million combined. Balfour Beatty completed the Southern Gateway Project in Texas in November, which was worth $666 million and was done through a joint venture with Irving, Texas-based Fluor.

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