Interstate 95 will be widened to eight lanes immediately north and south of Fayetteville, according to a federal grant announced Tuesday.

 
The $147 million infrastructure grant also will upgrade U.S. 70 to freeway standards to the coast, as well as bring broadband and telecommunications service to parts of eastern North Carolina.
 
A year ago, the state Department of Transportation announced that I-95 would be widened from exit 22 in Lumberton to exit 40 south of Fayetteville, which is U.S. 301/Business 95.
 
Tuesday’s grant announcement extends the widening from exit 56, which is U.S. 301/Business 95 in Eastover, to exit 71, which is Long Branch Road in Dunn. The state also plans to widen I-95 from Dunn to Benson, where it interchanges with Interstate 40.
 
The grant announcement from the offices of Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis did not include a timetable for construction. A spokeswoman for Burr referred questions to the state DOT, which had applied for the grant. The state DOT declined to comment Tuesday. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office released a statement later in the day that described the importance of the projects to military transportation and commerce.
 
Last summer, the DOT said two of the I-95 widening projects — from Lumberton to Fayetteville, and from Dunn to Benson — would start no earlier than 2026. It’s not clear whether this $147 million grant could speed things up.
 
In addition to making I-95 eight lanes, the grant will fund improvements to interchanges at exits 70, 71, 72, 73, 75 and 77.
 
Tolls are not part of the project.
 
While I-95 is under construction, crews will complete the last two remaining gaps along U.S. 70 between I-40 and the Havelock bypass, which will bring the entire highway up to freeway standards. U.S. 70, which will be the I-42, serves as an evacuation route from the coast.
 
Part of the infrastructure grant will go toward installing a fiber optic trunk line and microcell towers along 181 miles of I-95 from South Carolina to Virginia. The state also will install message signs with real-time information on driving conditions and fund technology needed for autonomous vehicles. 

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