The N.C. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $46.3 million contract to Wright Brothers Construction to widen N.C. 69 from the Georgia state line to U.S. 64 near Hayesville.
The contract allows for construction to begin as early as Jan. 6, 2020, and includes a completion date of March 2024.
The highway is part of the 1965 Appalachian Highway Development System Corridor A, which runs from Interstate 285 near Atlanta to I-40 near Clyde.
Construction on N.C. 69 will transform the two-lane road into a four-lane highway with a raised median in the middle. The inside lanes will be 12-feet wide. The outside lanes will be 14-feet wide to accommodate bicycles, and the outside shoulder will be a 10-foot berm to accommodate a sidewalk if Clay County wishes to add one in the future. The median will include designated left turn lanes at intersections and U-turn areas built to accommodate tractor-trailers and recreational vehicles.
The project will meet the anticipated capacity need for expected traffic demands in 2045.