Bridge construction at stand still

Bissell Companies’ and North Carolina transportation officials said construction on the intersection of Ballantyne Commons Parkway and North Community House Road – once scheduled to start in early 2013 – has been delayed until at least the spring.

“We continue to discuss the bridge project with N.C. DOT representatives and other property owners involved north of Ballantyne,” said Clifton Coble, president of Bissell Development. “We expect to have a better sense of the proposed timeline in several months. As outlined in the approved synthetic tax increment financing (STIF) proposal, Bissell plans to pay for the bridge. Pricing is still being negotiated.”

Bissell is working with Mecklenburg County and Charlotte, partnering on improvements to Ballantyne roads and access from Interstate 485. Lane Construction will be working on the bridge as part of a larger contract to widen I-485 and build a flyover at Johnston Road.

“The project was awarded to Lane Construction back in September,” said Louis Mitchell, division engineer with N.C. DOT. “It is a design-build project, so work is going on by the contractor in the background. I would expect to see dirt moving in the early spring, as the contractor agreed to a Dec. 2014 completion as part of the bid process.” That deadline applies to widening I-485 from I-77 to Rea Road so that it will extend pass Johnston Road.

The North Community House Road improvements will include dual left lanes with signals installed at three corners of the intersection. North Community House Road will also become a four-lane road, and stoplights will be installed.

The bridge will connect the north side of North Community House Road with the existing North Community House Road in Ballantyne.

“Once completed, North Community House Road will provide improved traffic flow while offering area residents greater alternatives for mobility,” said Coble.

The $83.3 million, three-year widening project of I-485 in the Ballantyne area will expand a 9.2-mile stretch of roadway from Rea Road to I-485, and it will also include a flyover bridge from Johnston Road to I-485 West.

“Most of the construction will occur to the inside, where the grass median occupies today,” said Mitchell of N.C. DOT. “The current plan is to have three lanes in both directions, with an additional auxiliary lane in strategic locations where the traffic flow from one interchange to another is greater. This project will remove the grass median and replace it with a barrier wall. The inside shoulders will be paved with extra width, to facilitate additional lane age to the inside in the future.”

Mitchell, N.C. DOT division engineer, said the project to alleviate congestion on the interstate is a year earlier and about $49 million less than anticipated.