NCDOT to Temporarily Close I-40 Eastbound On-ramp in Statesville Beginning Next Week

SHELBY-- As construction continues onthe Interstate 40/77 interchange improvement project in Statesville, theN.C. Department of Transportationwill temporarily close the I-40 Eastboundon-ramp from U.S.21 to I-40 EastboundbeginningMonday, Oct. 27,at 9 a.m. The closure will remain in place until Thursday, Oct. 30, at 6 a.m.

During the on-ramp closure, crewswill be working on asphalt, adding aguardrail and concrete barrier wall, as well asplacing new traffic markings.

A signed detour route will be in place directing eastbound I-40 traffic to take I-40 Westboundto N.C.115 (Exit 150), and then backtoI-40 Eastbound.

When the ramp reopens on Thursday morning, allI-40 Eastbound traffic heading to I-77 Southbound must exit at the US-21/new I-77 South Exit (Exit 151).The existing I-77 Southbound ramp will be closed off by a concrete barrier wall. Message boards will be placed on I-40 Eastbound at the same locations as the U.S.21 Exit signs.

If motoristsmissthe new southbound exit, they can take the exit for I-77 Northbound, continue around the loopramp to I-40 Westbound and continue around the Loop to theI-77 Southbound ramp.

For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit the NCDOTtraffic websiteor follow NCDOT onTwitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type "m.ncdot.gov" into the browser of your smartphone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference.