SHELBY – The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to begin construction on a bridge that will create access to a new casino in Cherokee County.
Once completed, the bridge will connect US-19/74/129 near Murphy to the new Harrah’s Casino owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and managed by Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation. The casino is expected to create hundreds of jobs and bring millions of dollars to the area.
Simpson Construction Company, Inc. was awarded the $2,520,623 contract. Construction is expected to begin the first week of March and should be finished by mid-November.
At a later date, the NCDOT will award another contract for construction of a road near the casino. A groundbreaking for the casino was held last fall.
Traffic control will be needed during construction, but the impact to motorists traveling through the area should be minimal.
This was one of 28 contracts worth $282.3 million recently awarded by NCDOT for highway, bridge and ferry projects across North Carolina. NCDOT awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The winning bids for the projects came in almost five percent, or $14.2 million, below NCDOT estimates.
– NCDOT
