Section 7 going up as seen from the interstate. (Photo courtesy of New Blue Ridge Parkway/MST I-26 Bridge Facebook page)
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced Nov. 21 that construction on the first half of the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge crossing over Interstate 26 near Asheville got under way with the first pier of the span erected in late October.
The Asheville Citizen Times reported that groundbreaking for the structure, near the French Broad River bridge in the mountainous western part of the state — between exits 33 and 37 on I-26 — began late last year when a footer was anchored 17 ft. into the ground.
The new bridge is being built as part of an I-26 widening project that started construction in 2019. NCDOT is looking to expand approximately 22 mi. of freeway in both Buncombe and Henderson counties from U.S. 25/Greenville Highway to the I-40 and I-240 interchange near Asheville.
The first half of the bridge, which will stretch to the edge of the current I-26 highway but not over it, is expected to be complete sometime between January and March, according to an estimate by Luke Middleton, a NCDOT resident engineer for the Buncombe County side of the widening project.
"If the weather works out just fine, you know, you could be looking at January or February," he explained. "It's all contingent on the weather."
Construction on the second half of the bridge cannot begin until the opposite side of the I-26 widening project is complete under the bridge, he told the Citizen Times, as NCDOT will flip traffic to the other lane, ensuring bridge construction never takes place over freeway traffic. That switch would probably occur sometime between February and April, and Middleton made an educated guess that the bridge structure could be finished as early as the late summer of 2023.
At its tallest point, Middleton estimated that the bridge would be between 105- to 115-ft. tall. When complete, it will have two wider Blue Ridge Parkway lanes and a sidewalk and will not include a barrier between traffic and the sidewalk. Additionally, it will be stronger than the old bridge, but he told the Asheville newspaper that he could not give an estimated lifespan for it.
The widening project will not include an exit from I-26 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, according to NCDOT.
Bridge Segments Trucked From N.C. Coast
VSL International, a Swiss infrastructure engineering firm building the bridge's structure, began work on the site last June but will not see the work through to full completion, Middleton noted. Rather, another subcontractor will lay down a latex-modified concrete road, which he said is typical for bridges, and will diamond grind it to make driving smooth.
Manufacturing rebar and concrete sections of the bridge began in April 2021 at an off-site location across the state in Wilmington. Over the course of the work, those sections have been delivered to the side of the road in Asheville, before being lifted by a crane to a sand pit closer to the pier. Depending on the piece, it may then need to be flipped upright before it can be slotted into the correct spot on the pier or bridge, according to NCDOT.
To support the construction, temporary towers have been erected alongside the first pier, which will help support the bridge as it continues to expand outwards toward the road and the other pier.
Counterweights will keep the structure stable and balanced, Middleton noted. Their use will be essential when the segment lifter, a large machine that runs on a rail across the top of the bridge carrying and securing new sections of the span, is fully operational in December.
To reach the top of the roadway bridge, crews are using either a lift from the crane or a stairway made of scaffolding.
NCDOT to Keep Natural Area Safe
Environmental sensitivity played a major part in planning and building the bridge, according to David Uchiyama, a communications officer with the state transportation agency. He said NCDOT was working closely with the National Park Service (NPS), which maintains the Parkway, to design the bridge.
As part of the effort, NPS required NCDOT to restore as much of the natural environment as possible after the bridge is finished, he said.
"We're talking down to the foot," added Uchiyama.
As for the old bridge, which Middleton said is not in bad condition but is blocking the expansion project, no plans have yet been made for how to take it down. Whichever demolition process is chosen, it will not include explosives, he told the Asheville news source.
The only time either of the two roads may be closed during the entire construction is for the demolition of the old bridge, Middleton said, and even then, it would likely be a closure of only one direction and would happen at night.
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