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State audit: Blue Ridge Road construction delays impacting State Fair, costing taxpayer millions
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State audit: Blue Ridge Road construction delays impacting State Fair, costing taxpayer millions

Posted: 10/18/2026, 2:37:10 AM

In addition to the typical congestion on the roads around the state fairgrounds, drivers on Saturday also had to weave around a construction zone on Blue Ridge Road.

Frustrations over the delayed underpass project, which was supposed to be completed by July 2023, are now at the center of a new state audit.

The release of the rapid report comes just days after the start of the North Carolina State Fair, with State Auditor Dave Boliek calling on the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to take action.

"North Carolinians traveling in for the State Fair have patiently waited for years on the Blue Ridge Road Underpass Project. The need for this underpass hasn’t gone away," Boliek said in the statement.

In the audit, Boliek also said he wants better transparency from NCDOT to help manage drivers’ expectations and encourage urgency from project managers.

The report points to issues with on-time delivery of permits and soil problems that should've been caught sooner.

The cost of the construction delays on the project is around $20 million, which is higher than what NCDOT initially budgeted for the project.

“Already, the traffic’s terrible,” fair-goer Kyndall Cash said. “It’s the fair time. Everybody wants to be at the fair. So, with the extra construction, it’s just inconvenient to everyone.”

The work is part of a larger NCDOT project that will widen I-440. 

The report listed five recommendations for NCDOT, including improving communication with drivers about why the project is taking longer than expected.

NC DOT responded to each of the state auditor's suggestions, writing in a statement that it appreciated the report.

"Department remains focused on safely completing the Blue Ridge Road Grade Separation and will continue applying lessons learned from this project to improve the delivery and communication of future complex transportation projects," Senior Deputy Chief Engineer E. Boyd Tharrington wrote.