GRMS Reaches Major Milestone with Official Manufacturing Launch
Toyota has officially launched production of electric batteries at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite (GRMS), even as Ames Construction continues developing the North Carolina site.
After completing mass grading at GRMS in late 2023, Ames crews have been busy executing transportation projects that will support the site. Ames began providing modified access in early 2025, and full transportation access will be open by the end of the year, supporting the official launch of the automaker’s first U.S. battery plant. More than 5,000 people will eventually be employed in the site’s advanced manufacturing facilities.
In January 2024, Ames broke ground on a project to build transportation access on the south end of the site. Crews previously completed access on the north end.
For the south end, Ames crews constructed an access road into GRMS, two underpasses on U.S. 421, and associated loops, ramps, and roundabouts. Ames worked with the client (NCDOT) and the designer through the Construction Manager-General Contractor (CMGC) process to accelerate construction in areas where transportation access was needed sooner for manufacturing operations to begin.
“A big challenge has been coordinating and meeting the needs of not only our client but Toyota,” says Senior Project Manager Bolton Webster. “Having to provide access before the project is complete has required intensive coordination between all parties.”
Ames is now preparing for the final GRMS transportation project: a bridge over U.S. 421 north of the first intersection Ames built on the project.
