DUNN – The rebuilt Bud Hawkins Road bridge (Exit 70) over Interstate 95 in Harnett County opened Friday night.
The contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation widening I-95 closed the exit last summer, so the bridge could be rebuilt with a longer, taller and wider structure.
Last night, the contractor closed Rhodes Pond Road overpass to the south of Exit 70, so it, too, can be rebuilt to modern standards. The road does not have an interchange. It will reopen in about nine months.
Drivers will use U.S. 301 and Bud Hawkins Road to bypass the Rhodes Pond overpass when it closes.
Several bridges being replaced
The Bud Hawkins bridge is the latest to be rebuilt under the widening project that began in January 2020 and stretches roughly from Exit 55 in Eastover to Exit 71 in Harnett County. The contractor is widening the four-lane lane highway into a total of eight lanes and modernizing the interchanges with new ramps and minor road realignments. The contractor is about halfway finished with the project, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
So far, bridges on Long Branch, Baywood and Sherill Baggett roads have been replaced; replacement bridges are nearing completion on Godwin-Falcon Road; Wade Stedman Road; and for the new I-95 North flyover at Exit 58. The bridges at Smithfield Road and Percy Strickland Road also will be replaced.
In another contract awarded last year, NCDOT will similarly widen and replace most bridges between north of Exit 71 and Exit 81 (the Interstate 40 junction) in Johnston County. Construction on this portion of I-95 began last fall and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
People can learn more about the projects at this NCDOT page.