Some of the biggest road construction projects in Raleigh are several years behind schedule
Several of the biggest road construction projects in Wake County are behind schedule.
WRAL Investigates searched North Carolina Department of Transportation contracts for 31 road construction projects underway in Wake County. Five of the biggest are behind schedule, including three that are delayed by more than a year with supply and labor shortages partially to blame.
“Our goal as the construction industry is to build really good projects within the specifications required and on time or before,” said Highway Heavy Division of Carolina’s Association of General Contractors Director Victor Barbour.
The state fined contractor Lane Construction $280,000 for a 28-hour delay opening the new Western Boulevard diverging diamond interchange in November.
Barbour said contractors statewide are struggling to find the necessary labor to get jobs finished.
“I know of very few, if any, contractors that aren’t hiring people right now if they can find them,” Barbour said.
Road construction projects behind schedule
Since 1977, Raleigh resident Millie Shyllon has lived along Athens Drive and Interstate 440. She described what it was like when construction crews began demolishing the Athens Drive bridge over the interstate.
“My house was shaking like it was going to split open, and the noise was extremely terrible,” Shyllon said.
Shyllon acknowledged the construction will take time, but said it’s been hassle.
“What can you do?” she said. “I’m not complaining, but at the same time, everything is at a standstill.”
The construction near Shyllon’s home is far from the only project behind schedule.
The widening of I-40 between the city of Raleigh and the town of Clayton was supposed to finish in June. Its revised completion date is now August 2024.
The Beltline widening from the town of Cary to Raleigh is pushed back from finishing in July 2023 to October 2024.
The project to extend I-540 is also behind. It was scheduled to finish in October for part of the new expressway from Holly Springs to U.S. 401. It’s been delayed to May 2024.
The I-540 extension from U.S. 401 to I-40 is a year behind schedule, with construction expected to be completed in November 2024.
"Any time there is a project delay, there are going to be associated cost increases,” NCDOT spokesperson Aaron Moody said. “The larger a project is and the longer the delays, the more substantial the cost increases will be.”
Like other industries across the country, Moody said the transportation industry is impacted by labor shortages.
"With the unprecedented labor and material challenges we are seeing, contractors are taking steps to maintain delivery schedules on projects," Moody said. "Certain operations may experience some lower production rates, but contractors have been compensating for this by shifting resources where possible."
NCDOT told WRAL Investigates that contractors are shifting around resources so they can to keep things moving forward. However, with all these major projects happening at the same time, staffing shortages are pushing these timelines back.
“The challenge for us is getting enough labor and equipment and materials to get that project finished on time,” Barbour said.
Barbour said the state has done outreach at community colleges and high schools to find construction workers.
“I joke with folks that the way things are going, plumbers and electricians will make more than doctors or lawyers because there will be fewer of them,” Barbour said.
