The US$66.4 million contract has been won by Conti Enterprises, which will start work straightway. All but the landscaping is scheduled for completion by July 2018 and final completion is expected in January 2019.

The 56-year-old bridge over Gallant’s Channel in Beaufort is considered functionally obsolete in that it cannot meet current and future traffic demands. As well as having a fixed span, the new bridge will also be wider than the structure it replaces.

This is one of 28 contracts worth a total of US$282.3 million recently awarded by NCDOT for highway, bridge and ferry projects across North Carolina. NCDOT awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The winning bids for the projects came in 5%, or US$14.2 million, below NCDOT estimates.