Following years of work, Balfour Beatty has finished two North Carolina infrastructure projects, according to a company news release.
Balfour Beatty announced that the Fayetteville Outer Loop project on Interstate 295 in the southeastern area of North Carolina, is now open to traffic. The project — which NCDOT estimated cost $1 billion — acts as a beltway around the western portion of Fayetteville, connecting U.S. 401 in the north back to I-95 to the south of the metropolitan area.
NDOT said the 39-mile outer loop also serves as a crucial direct connection to Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the country, reducing travel times throughout the region. The project started in 2003, according to NCDOT.
Balfour Beatty’s portion of the work, according to the Feb. 16 release, focused on multiple segments of the highway, including interchanges, overpasses and roadway improvements. The connection will also help enhance freight movement and mobility in the area, per the release.
Over in the eastern coastal region of the state, Balfour Beatty also completed work on another traffic loop. The Havelock Bypass project on U.S. 70, which is about two hours north of the city of Wilmington, officially opened to vehicular traffic in December, according to the release. Work started in 2019, according to NCDOT.
The project reduces congestion and improves hurricane evacuation routes away from the coast, according to the news release. NCDOT pegged construction cost at $268 million, with the total project pricetag coming in at $323 million.
Scope of work for the U.S. arm of the London-based Balfour Beatty included building approximately 9.2 miles of four-lane divided highway. The highway features interchanges, bridges and environmental features designed to protect the 160,000-acre Croatan National Forest.
Planning for the Havelock Bypass project began in 2011 with a draft environmental impact statement and a public hearing, per NCDOT. Construction will be complete this coming winter.
The contractor has other jobs coming down the pike in North Carolina — in 2023, it was awarded a $242 million design-build contract to improve the U.S. Highway 70 corridor, slated to become I-42. That project is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
Balfour Beatty’s U.S. Civils business, where the contractor houses its infrastructure projects, has encountered challenges recently. During its 2025 half-year earnings in August, former CEO Leo Quinn revealed that the segment suffered from cost overruns on a highway project in Texas, which dragged on the business’ profitability.
Further, in Balfour Beatty’s full-year 2024 earnings call, the company revealed that a dip in profit for the segment was the result of a small number of delayed U.S. civil jobs.
