The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in the US has awarded a $263m contract to engineering and construction firm Fluor’s joint venture (JV) with United Infrastructure to develop the Asheville Interstate Expansion project.

The project will involve the widening and improvement of a 7.5-mile stretch of Interstate 26 from Exit 40 to the I-40 interchange in Asheville, North Carolina.

Contractors plan to widen the I-26 from two lanes to four lanes in each direction. They will also be reconstructing two interchanges at N.C. 280 (Airport Road) and N.C. 146 (Long Shoals Road).

The Asheville Interstate Expansion project will include the construction of six new bridges over Glenn Bridge Road, the French Broad River and Biltmore Farms Road, as well as one segmental bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway over I-26.

The I-26 currently carries more than 58,000 vehicles a day.

Fluor infrastructure and power business group president Terry Towle said: “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.

“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 centre in Greenville, South Carolina.”

The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

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

This June, a Balfour Beatty and Fluor JV secured a $1.7bn contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (DoT) to complete the Interstate 635 LBJ East project in the US state.