DURHAM – Work that is part of the Alston Avenue widening project in Durham will require a year-long closure of a section of the road.
To facilitate construction and deliver the project in a more timely and safe manner, Alston Avenue will be closed to thru traffic between Main Street and Liberty Street for a 12-month period starting Friday, Jan. 4. The full closure will enable the contractor to expedite the replacement of water and sewer utility lines located below the road.
NCDOT engineers held two meetings earlier this year with area residents and business owners to share information about the upcoming work and discuss coordination plans.
Though the closure will last for a year, it will be broken into two six-month-long stages. The first will be between Main Street and Taylor Street and is expected to be open to local traffic by mid-summer. The second stage will begin after the first section opens and will shut down the road between Taylor Street and Liberty Street.
The main signed detour will be as follows:
- Eastbound Alston Avenue – Turn right onto Holloway Street, turn left on Elizabeth Street, turn left to Main Street, and turn right to continue onto Alston Avenue.
- Westbound Alston Avenue – Turn left onto Main Street, turn right to Elizabeth Street, turn right to Holloway Street, and turn left to continue onto Alston Avenue.
The project also includes the replacement of the Alston Avenue bridge over the Durham Freeway, which should be completed this winter. That will allow the reopening of all ramps at that exit.
More than a mile of Alston Avenue is being widened to improve safety along the road, and reduce congestion. In addition to the added travel lanes, sidewalks are being added to both sides of the road, as well as bicycle accommodations. Retaining walls and new railroad bridges are also included.
The improvements are needed because the road is expected to be used by 33,000 vehicles a day within the next 20 years. Part of the road will initially be striped for on-street parking upon project completion in 2020. A four-lane pattern will be implemented for the entire stretch of roadway when future traffic volumes warrant the additional lanes.
Real-time travel information is available through a variety of means at DriveNC.gov and the NCDOT Triangle Twitter feed.