SYLVA — The N.C. Department of Transportation is re-routing eastbound traffic on Interstate 40 to the Harmon Den exit ramp at mile marker 7 and then immediately back onto the interstate.
Transportation officials have chosen to make long-lasting repairs to a bridge at that location for the safety of motorists.
Concrete on the bridge is deteriorating and temporary repairs have not fixed the underlying problem.
The lasting repairs, which started Tuesday, are expected to take three weeks for the eastbound bridge followed by a similar procedure that will close the westbound bridge for the following three weeks.
The contractor, Lanford Brothers of Virginia, will remove the decaying concrete and install a new surface designed to extend the life of the bridge for at least five years. Lanford Brothers agreed to perform the repairs for $795,000.
“We want to eliminate the need for continued maintenance repairs,” Division 14 resident engineer Nathan Tanner said. “We are asking a monumental task of completing the work in just six weeks. Projects like this usually take longer.”