An innovative approach to move 4 million tons of dirt for an interstate construction project in North Carolina has won a top regional design-build award.
A joint venture selected by the N.C. Department of Transportation consisting of Balfour Beatty, Branch Civil Inc. and STV Engineers Inc. built the award-winning project for the 6-mile southern leg of the Interstate 295 Fayetteville Outer Loop. The joint venture won the top transportation award in the category of projects exceeding $100 million from the Southeast Design Build Institute of America during its recent regional summit in Asheville. The region covers North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
A driving force behind cinching the award was the temporary conveyor belt bridge that crews built over I-95 to move dirt from a borrow pit on one side of the highway to the other side without impacting traffic. The dirt was used to build up ramps and bridges for an interchange with I-295.
Ultimately, around 140,000 dump trucks' worth of dirt was moved via the conveyor belt system.
The original $130 million design-build contract was awarded in 2017, and a $108 million supplemental agreement was added in 2021 to widen the interstate from four to eight lanes between mile markers 38 and 41. All work was completed in 2025.
On November 25, 2025, NCDOT officials cut the ribbon on the last portion of the Outer Loop, the 5-mile, four-lane U.S. 401 to Camden Road corridor. That final project cost $151.8 million and was awarded to Branch Civil Inc. in July 2022.
In addition to that final section, the Outer Loop was completed in four other phases:
- U.S. 401 Business/Ramsey Street to All American Freeway: split into three sections that were all completed between 2014 and 2016.
- All American Freeway to Cliffdale Road: completed in November 2019.
- Cliffdale Road to U.S. 401 (Raeford Road): completed in August 2020.
- Camden Road to I-95: completed in April 2025.
The finished Outer Loop is designed to:
- reduce traffic on certain local street networks
- connect major routes in the south, west and north sections of Fayetteville
- Provide additional crossing at the Cape Fear River
- Promote economic growth and attract business and industry
The Outer Loop was originally slated for full completion in 2024, but an NCDOT financial crisis brought on by the Covid pandemic in 2020 pushed its projected completion date to 2026.
