RALEIGH - Drivers who have been detouring around the closure of a section of
Optimist Farm Road south of Raleigh the past month because of a pipe washout
could return to their regular route later this week.
Heavy rain on August 12 washed out the pipe that runs under Optimist
Farm Road between Lake Wheeler Road and Johnson Pond Road. After studying the
cause of the washout, it was decided the destroyed pipe would be replaced with
a larger pipe that will be able to better handle increased water volume in
cases of major storms.
The new larger pipe arrived last week and has been installed, with
water already flowing through it. Prep
work for the re-paving of the road is taking place early this week, and weather
permitting, paving could start Wednesday and wrap up in time to open the road
as early as Thursday.
The N.C. Department of Transportation
reminds motorists to watch signs for road closure and detour information, stay
alert and obey the posted speed limit.
For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter. 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.
>