Last Updated on January 31, 2013 3:40 pm
A $1.3 million contract has been awarded to Smith-Rowe LLC of Mount Airy by the N.C. Department of Transportation to replace the Roby Green Road bridge over the South Fork of the New River northeast of Boone. Work can begin as early as Feb. 25 and be completed by Oct. 28, 2014.
Traffic will be maintained on the old bridge while the new bridge is built upriver west of the old bridge. Traffic will then be shifted onto the new bridge and the old bridge will be taken down.
The bridge was built in 1959 and is deemed functionally obsolete. This does not mean the bridge is unsafe, but there are elements of the bridge that need to be monitored to maintain its structural integrity. The new bridge will be able to accommodate larger vehicles.
This is one of 24 contracts totaling $59.9 million awarded by NCDOT in January for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina. NCDOT awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The bids received on the projects awarded came in about 4.8 percent, or $3.1 million, below NCDOT estimates.
