RALEIGH - Early
Sunday, motorists can begin traveling on the newly constructed outside lanes of
I-85 South from just north I-85 Business to Belmont Road in Davidson County.
The traffic shift will start on Saturday, April 13, at 8 p.m. and end on
Sunday, April 14, by 11 a.m. The shift will complete the transition of traffic to
the new outside lanes for the full length of the northern segment of the I-85
Corridor Improvement Project in both directions.
To move traffic safely and
efficiently, crews must close lanes on I-85 South, the Belmont Road exit loop (Exit 86), I-85 Business South from Exit 84 to its merger with I-85 South and a short section of I-85
South at the Linwood Exit (Exit 88). The ramp closures will occur between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. on
Sunday, and will not take place simultaneously. The closures will be lifted as
soon as work allows.
Motorists traveling on I-85
Business South who want to access I-85 South while that section is closed
should:
- Exit
at Linwood (Exit 84);
- Turn
left onto Hargrave Lane;
- Turn
right onto Hargrave Road; and
- Turn right onto Belmont Road
and proceed to the I-85 South entrance ramp on the left.
Motorists traveling on I-85 South
who want to access Belmont Road during the Exit 86 closure should:
- Exit at Linwood (Exit 88);
- Turn left on Hargrave Road; and
- Turn right on Belmont Road.
During the closure of I-85 South
at the Linwood Exit (Exit 88), motorists will exit I-85 at Linwood, travel
straight across Hargrave Road and back onto I-85 South via the temporarily
opened Linwood entrance ramp.
Signs will alert motorists to the detours, and law
enforcement officers will assist with traffic flow. The N.C. Department of
Transportation encourages
drivers to go slow and allow additional time to reach their destinations safely
while traveling in the work zone. Traffic conditions can be monitored using live
cameras on the project website.
Moving traffic onto the new outside lanes of I-85 is a
necessary step for the northern segment of the I-85 Corridor Improvement
Project. It will allow crews to begin construction on the new inside lanes of
I-85. By late summer, the contractor is scheduled to open the interstate to
four lanes in each direction from just north of N.C. 150 to just north of I-85
Business.
The I-85 Corridor Improvement Project is the state's top
mobility project. NCDOT broke ground in September 2010 on the southern
segment of the project, which involves replacing eight bridges,
widening 3.3 miles of I-85 from just north of Long Ferry Road (Exit 81) to just
north of N.C. 150 and reconstructing the N.C. 150 interchange. The northern
segment extends the interstate widening by an additional 3.8 miles
from just north of N.C. 150 to just north of I-85 Business. Work on both
segments is concurrent and currently scheduled to be complete in late summer.
For more information on both phases of the $201.5 million
project, visit www.i-85yadkinriver.com. To receive instant
updates on traffic pattern changes, construction-related congestion and project
milestones, follow NCDOT's I-85 Twitter feed.
***NCDOT***
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