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Fluor Joint Venture Selected for Vital Asheville, N.C. Interstate Expansion Project

by Fluor on

Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that its joint venture together with United Infrastructure Group, Inc. was selected by the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to widen and improve a 7.5-mile stretch of Interstate 26 from Exit 40 (N.C. 280/Airport Road) to the I-40 interchange in Asheville, N.C. Fluor will book the $263 million contract in the third quarter of 2019.

The project will widen I-26 from two lanes to four lanes in each direction, include two interchange reconstructions – one at N.C. 280 (Airport Road) and the other at N.C. 146 (Long Shoals Road) – and the construction of seven new bridges – two over Glenn Bridge Road, two over Biltmore Farms Road, two over the French Broad River and one segmental bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway over I-26. This stretch of I-26 currently carries more than 58,000 vehicles per day.

“This project will help alleviate traffic congestion and improve the safety and operational efficiency for drivers on this vital stretch of interstate heading in and out of Asheville and intersecting with I-40,” said Terry Towle, group president of Fluor’s Infrastructure & Power business. “When completed, it will upgrade access to existing roadway connections and improve existing road surface conditions.

“Fluor plans to serve the project needs in Asheville from our nearby and well-established operations center in Greenville, South Carolina. We are thrilled to be able to lead a project that is in our backyard and that will improve the daily lives of so many citizens,” Towle said. “This is a significant strategic milestone for Fluor. Not only does it help us to showcase the advantages of Fluor’s heavy civil business model, but it firmly establishes our position in the bid-build, self-perform market and expands Fluor’s market offering beyond the traditional design-build and public private partnerships.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2019 with project completion to occur in the spring of 2024.

Fluor’s heavy civil business was launched in 2017 to further develop Fluor’s self-perform construction capabilities and support the growing demand for infrastructure development and investment.