The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to award a contract next spring to a design and construction team that will widen I-95 from four lanes to eight lanes between exit 56 (Eastover) in Cumberland County and exit 71 (Long Branch Road) in Harnett County. Then, in 2020, the department is scheduled to award another contract to further expand the freeway between exit 71 and exit 81 in Benson where I-95 and Interstate 40 converge.
In all, 25 miles will be widened from four lanes to eight lanes. Additionally, at least six interchanges and overpasses will be rebuilt with new bridges that will be taller and longer. The combined projects are estimated to cost more than $700 million in construction and land acquisition.
The projects will mark the state’s first substantial upgrade of I-95, which was built beginning in the 1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower. The sections to be widened were scored using such criteria as congestion management and traffic volume and received funding in the department’s State Transportation Improvement Program. The project is partially being funded by a $147 million federal program known as Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, or INFRA. The department was awarded the grant this summer to improve highways and broadband service in Eastern North Carolina.
State transportation officials hope to widen other sections of I-95 in future projects that also will be scored and compete with other highway needs around the state.
For more I-95 construction and travel information, visit www.i95exitguide.com, the Internet’s largest and most complete website devoted to I-95, America’s Interstate Main Street. Detailed exit service listings… discount lodging, camping, food, gas and more for every exit from Maine to Florida! Plus I-95 construction, real-time traffic and road news.
Traveling another route? Visit our growing family of exit guides: I-4 Exit Guide, I-5 Exit Guide, I-10 Exit Guide , and I-75 Exit Guide.
