RALEIGH - Drivers who have been detouring around the closure of a section of
Optimist Farm Road south of Raleigh the past month can return to their regular
route. The road re-opened late this afternoon after an emergency pipe
replacement project.
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 to avoid having to deal with the same problem again.
The new larger pipe arrived last week and was installed, with prep
work for re-opening the road and paving wrapping up today. Crews will still
have to put down permanent lane markings so the N.C.
Department of Transportation reminds motorists to use extra caution in the
area, 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.\
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