RALEIGH - Drivers who use Hammond Road to access I-40 East in the
Fortify project work zone have a new traffic pattern to pay attention to starting this week. Drivers on both northbound and southbound Hammond Road started using a new ramp to access I-40 East, starting April 1.
Southbound drivers coming from downtown Raleigh had
been going under I-40 and then turning right at a traffic light onto a
loop around to the interstate. The change requires those motorists to
instead get into a left-hand turning lane as they approach the traffic
light, and then turn left onto a new ramp to I-40 East. Northbound
drivers have been turning left at that same traffic light to merge onto
the I-40 East entrance ramp loop shared by southbound drivers since May
2014. That is when the original ramp to I-40 East was closed so crews
could safely do bridge and interchange work. But now, northbound drivers
will use a right-hand turning lane just before the traffic
light and merge onto the I-40 East ramp, yielding to drivers coming
from southbound Hammond Road.The change was needed to allow
contractor crews to safely continue doing interchange work at Hammond
Road for the Fortify project. As in almost every case, changes
in traffic patterns take some time to get used to, so we urge drivers to
watch for traffic and construction signs, slow down in the area, and
keep an eye out for other drivers who may be making last-minute lane
changes. For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit the Traveler Services section of the NCDOT website or follow NCDOT on Twitter. You can also access NCDOT Mobile, a version of the NCDOT website especially for mobile devices. Visit m.ncdot.gov from your mobile browser.