FLETCHER – A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation agreed to complete a major bridge project over Interstate 26 by the start of the Mountain State Fair.
They’ve accomplished their goal.
Butler Bridge Road in northern Henderson County will reopen to traffic on Friday, which is 179 days from the date of the closure. The contractor, Archer-Wright Joint Venture, built the new bridge in stages and utilized several overnight closures to complete the project in six months, which is several months less than typical construction time for a new bridge.
“We’re thrilled to reconnect traffic on one side of the interstate to the other,” Division 14 Resident Engineer Mike Patton said. “The commute times for drivers who use that bridge should return to normal.”
An average of 7,600 vehicles per day used the bridge according to the most recent traffic count, taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drivers were utilizing North Rugby Road, Rugby Drive and U.S. 25 Business as a detour.
The reopening of Butler Bridge Road may help local traffic during the Mountain State Fair, which runs from Friday through Sept. 19.
In addition, NCDOT and its contractors will suspend all lane closures during operating hours of the fair. All lanes will remain open and all construction activities will occur behind safety barriers.
Visit the Mountain State Fair website for additional information, and transportation officials remind drivers to follow the instructions of on-scene law enforcement and pedestrians to avoid jaywalking.