ROANOKE RAPIDS – A smoother ride is coming to Julian R. Allsbrook Highway, Roanoke Rapids' busiest commercial route off Interstate 95.
An N.C. Department of Transportation contractor will resurface a 1.2-mile span of the seven-lane corridor, which is also U.S. 158, between Smith Church Road (N.C. 125) and Country Club Road.
The work is scheduled to start Sunday and take 4-6 weeks to complete.
To reduce traffic disruptions, most of the work will be done at night between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. There will be, however, some minor work during the daytime that will require temporary lane reductions. Drivers should proceed cautiously through the work zone and be alert for crews in the roadway.
Rose Brothers Paving Co. of Ahoskie will remove a top layer of the existing asphalt in a process known as milling. Then, pavement around manholes and water valves will be added before the roadway is resurfaced. Permanent lane markings will be placed after the project is completed. The department awarded the nearly $1 million contract to Rose Brothers last year.