The widening of an eastern North Carolina highway will take a year longer than originally projected after a couple of unforeseen problems cropped up during the work.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says the project to widen U.S. 17 in Martin and Beaufort counties to four lanes started two years ago, and now completion is pushed back to October of 2027.
NCDOT said there were delays in relocating overhead and underground utilities that derailed the project by nine months, and the discovery of older concrete under the existing asphalt added another five months to the project.
Officials say the added work also adds an extra $5.1 million to the project cost.
