The South Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to widen and improve Interstate 95 near the Georgia border, a project estimated to cost $825 million.
Spain-based multinational contractor Ferrovial in a joint venture with its American subsidiary Webber won the contract to improve and modernize key interchanges and bridges, including building a new bridge over the Savannah River.
A feasibility study conducted by SCDOT in 2021 reported that the corridor ranked among the worst rural interstates for freight mobility, and traffic is expected to intensify over the next 25 years as the population in the region continues to grow.
The project will address a 10-mile stretch, in conjunction with the Georgia DOT, of I-95 from the Savannah River to U.S. 278 on the state’s southern tip. This portion contains 14 bridges, two interchanges and a new proposed interchange to be completed as a separate project.
The project will take I-95 from four to six lanes toward the existing median and replace bridges over the Savannah River, the Savannah Overflow, the Send Island Swamp, the SCL Railroad and S.C. 46.
SCDOT expects to break ground on this project later this summer, and work is forecast to be completed in 2030. Construction costs are estimated at $728.8 million, to be funded by SCDOT’s Federal Interstate funds, State Rural Interstate funds and GDOT. The total project cost is estimated at $825 million.
South Carolina Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell said this portion of I-95 has historically been a chokepoint for East Coast traffic.
The North Carolina DOT's widening an 18-mile stretch of I-95 in the center of the state is set to wrap up later this year.
