An I-85 interchange on Old Beatty Ford Road is not the only Rowan County road project to benefit from increased state funding this year, according to state Sen. Tom McInnis.

The widening of Julian Road and the construction of a new multilane route from Bendix Drive to U.S. 52 at Newsome Road are also among projects that have hit the fast track.

Proposed new projects for Rowan County include adding multiple lanes from Airport Road to west of Grant’s Creek and the construction of a new, two-lane road between Harrison Road near Jake Alexander Boulevard and Peach Orchard Road off of U.S. 29.

The General Assembly passed several major transportation funding reforms during its 2015 session, which include more than $700 million in new money for transportation needs over two years, McInnis reported in a press release this week. The state expects to spend $4.5 billion on new road construction and maintenance over the next 10 years.

In addition to Old Beatty Ford Road, the widening of Julian Road and the construction of a new multilane route from Bendix Drive to U.S. 52 at Newsome Road are among the projects that have hit the fast track.

Proposed new projects for Rowan County include adding multiple lanes from Airport Road to west of Grant’s Creek and the construction of a new, two-lane road between Harrison Road near Jake Alexander Boulevard and Peach Orchard Road off of U.S. 29.

All told, the DOT has accelerated 90 existing projects statewide and added 92 new highway projects.

“We are now finally seeing some relief from the Great Recession in North Carolina,” said McInnis, a Republican from Rockingham who represents part of Rowan County. “With the budget that we passed in the General Assembly that stopped the transfer of transportation funds to the general fund our rural area will now see new highway infrastructure construction. This is a welcomed change to the road systems in our rural counties.”

The improvements for Rowan County roads are on a proposed project list that will be presented to the State Board of Transportation to be reviewed during its December meeting.

While the funding is in place, the project list still needs to be approved by the state board. The board’s approval is expected by January 2016.