JONESVILLE – A project to replace a five-mile section of 50-year-old concrete on Interstate 77 in Surry and Yadkin Counties will begin in March.
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will remove the old concrete and supporting base then rebuild the road so it can last 50 years or more.
This extensive project will require one lane of the interstate to be closed five days per week.
NCDOT, State Highway Patrol and the Jonesville Police Department are coordinating to warn drivers of the construction zone, and the new speed limits and the hazards involved with this project.
“In order to efficiently replace this section of road, crews will be working behind barrels,” NCDOT Division Construction Engineer Trent Beaver said. “As with all work zones, it is critical that every driver slow down and remain alert when driving through the work zone so that the workers and also the traveling public remain safe.”
Lane closures will be about one mile in length each week. Archer Western, the contractor, has the goal of completing 3,000 feet per week. A driver travelling at 50 MPH would pass that section in 37 seconds.
Crews will begin working on the inside lane of I-77 North from mile marker 78 to mile marker 82. They’ll continue with the inside lane in the southbound direction, then flip to the outside lanes heading north and then south. Another looping section of work from mile marker 82 to 84 will complete the project.
The contract, worth $49.5 million and awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, calls for the project to be completed by Sept. 1, 2021. The contract includes financial incentives for finishing early.