Driving in Highway Division 6 Dangerous, More Roads Close

FAYETTEVILLE – Driving conditions remain dangerous across much of the greater Fayetteville area as floodwaters continue to rise and force more road closures.

Flooding has caused the N.C. Department of Transportation to close the Person Street bridge over the Cape Fear River in downtown Fayetteville, and the department plans to close at 6 p.m. another section of Interstate 95, from mile marker 46 to 56, over the same river. Transportation officials Tuesday evening also are closely monitoring the nearby Grove Street over the Cape Fear in Fayetteville. If the water level reaches the girders, which support the deck, the department will close the bridge as well.

With the impending closure, I-95 will be closed in both directions between exits 13 and 56 and between exits 65 and 81. Near Rocky Mount, southbound traffic is being detoured off the freeway at exit 138 and being sent to Charlotte and into South Carolina.

State transportation officials will continue to monitor water levels and open I-95 as soon as possible. Closed sections of U.S. 74 in Columbus and Robeson counties are also flooded.

“We have to wait for floodwaters to recede before inspections can be performed to make sure it is safe to reopen roads to motorists.” said Drew Cox, the Division 6 maintenance engineer.

Transportation officials urged people to avoid driving in southeastern North Carolina where rivers are rising and numerous roads are impassable.

The following is a rundown of major closures as of Tuesday morning, in addition to I-95 and U.S. 74, in the five counties that make up Division 6:

• Bladen: U.S. 701, N.C. 20, N.C. 41, N.C. 53, N.C. 131, N.C. 210, N.C. 211, N.C. 211 Business, N.C. 242 and N.C. 410
• Columbus:  U.S. 74, U.S. 74 Business, U.S. 76, U.S. 701 Bypass, U.S. 701 Business, N.C. 87, N.C. 130, N.C. 211, N.C. 214, N.C. 904 and N.C. 905
• Cumberland:  I-95, U.S. 13, U.S. 301, N.C. 24, N.C. 53, N.C. 59, N.C. 87, N.C. 210 and N.C. 690
• Harnett: I-95, U.S. 401, N.C. 27, N.C. 82, N.C. 210 and N.C. 217
• Robeson: I-74, I-95, U.S. 74, U.S. 301, U.S. 501, N.C. 41, N.C. 71, N.C. 72, N.C. 83, N.C. 130, N.C. 211 and N.C. 904

The division has more than 200 secondary roads with washouts or closures in the hurricane’s wake. The number of closures has been rising this week as flooding inundates the division’s counties. The division has 350 employees, plus engineering firms and contractors, working in the Florence recovery effort.

The division sustained some of the worst damage in North Carolina. Across the state, there are more than 1,000 road closures, including Interstate 40, as well as numerous highways and other primary routes. While road conditions are starting to improve in some parts of the state, rising creeks, streams and rivers continue to make travel unsafe in many areas of North Carolina.