GASTONIA – N.C. Department of Transportation contract crews will be placing travel lanes on I-85 South in a new alignment this weekend, starting at the Mecklenburg County line and progressing to the Belmont – Mt. Holly/Belmont Abbey College interchange (exit 26). This new traffic pattern is expected to ease congestion and reduce the risk of crashes involving left-merging vehicles.
Workers will grind away the existing pavement markings, remove and adjust signage and install the new traffic pattern. Motorists will notice the merge lane from the left will be removed and that the far right lane at exit 27 (Belmont – Mt. Holly) will become an exit-only lane. The number of available travel lanes will not change.
Lane closures will get underway at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 and continue until noon Sunday, Sept. 30. This time was chosen due to lower traffic volumes and to minimize inconvenience to drivers. NCDOT will use overhead message boards along I-85 South to alert drivers of the upcoming work, and motorists can also take U.S. 29/74 (Wilkinson Boulevard) as an alternate route.
Transportation officials remind motorists to drive safely, obey all posted speed limits and work-zone postings.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.