DURHAM – Work on the Alston Avenue widening project will require a flagging operation this weekend at the intersection with the northbound N.C. 147 off-ramp/Gann Street to prepare for a traffic shift that will subsequently reopen ramps at the N.C. 147 interchange.
Once the traffic shift is complete, eastbound N.C. 55 traffic will be able to turn left to southbound N.C. 147, and westbound N.C. 55 traffic will be able to use the loop to northbound N.C. 147.
Lane closures on the bridge are still expected after April 1 as sidewalk and incidental grading work will continue.
With the interchange reopening, the next section of the long-term Alston Avenue closure will commence. Main Street between Stokes Street and Holman Street will be closed to thru traffic starting Monday, April 1, to install storm drains, waterlines, sewer lines, curbs and gutters, and tie the road into Alston Avenue. This work is expected to last 90 days. Access to all local properties, including Los Primos and Durham Rescue Mission, will always be maintained.
The Main Street detour route will include Angier Avenue and Blacknall Street.
While Main Street is closed, the long-term Alston Avenue detour will change. All thru traffic will use the northbound N.C. 147 on-ramp loop, Exit 12A/Fayetteville Street and continue to Holloway Street.
The first phase of the long-term closure of Alston Avenue is expected to reopen shortly after the Main Street reopening, sometime around July 4.
Since the start of the new year, work on a closure of a short section of Alston Avenue between Main Street and Taylor Street to has been under way. It is expected to open to local traffic by mid-summer. Then the same type of closure, also for about six months, will get under way between Taylor Street and Liberty Street.
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.