Council to approve construction bid for Tega Cay connector

Construction of the Tega Cay-Gold Hill Connector is expected to take another step forward Monday when the York County Council awards an $8.1 million bid for the project.

Council will award the bid to Granite Contracting LLC in Cornelius, N.C., which had the lowest of the three bids at $8,113,737.92, higher than the original $7.4 million estimate.

When the project was first budgeted in late 2003, a consulting firm the county hired estimated the cost at $1.4 million. But the cost has risen steadily, and in August 2013, Council voted to spend $4 million more on the project, bringing the total cost to $7.4 million.

A Council recommendation attributes the higher-than-anticipated project costs to above average construction difficulty, a high number of construction activities in the region and related shortage of construction labor, equipment and materials.

The two-lane road will run from Gold Hill to Hubert Graham Parkway along the Tega Cay city limit line. The project was approved by voters in the second round of Pennies for Progress, the county’s road-building program that is paid for by a penny on the sales tax, and includes a connector roadway and bridge on new alignment, between Gold Hill Road and Stonecrest Boulevard.

The connector includes retaining walls, curb and gutter, sidewalk and drainage improvements. The intersection at Gold Hill Road will be a signalized T-intersection and the intersection at Stonecrest Boulevard will be a roundabout. Both intersections include curb and gutter and sidewalk improvements as well as drainage improvements.

Included in the Council’s proposal is the transfer of $3.7 million in surplus budget funds from the account of a completed “Pennies” project.

Officials have said building the road will divert traffic off Gold Hill Road, giving commuters a more direct route to S.C. 160, which connects to Interstate 77.

Tega Cay Mayor George Sheppard said rush-hour congestion at the intersection of Gold Hill Road and S.C. 160 demands an alternative.

“It’s probably the worst in the county,” Sheppard said in 2013, noting the road will provide police, fire, EMS and shoppers with a direct path to a nearby Walmart and other stores, and several neighborhoods. The roadway is expected to open sometime in 2017.

County Council meets Monday at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 6 S. Congress St., York.

This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Council to approve construction bid for Tega Cay connector."