PILOT MOUNTAIN – An N.C. Department of Transportation contractor soon will shift traffic to a new bridge in Surry County.
Construction will finish on the U.S. 52 South bridge this week, allowing crews to shift drivers to the new bridge and permanent alignment late Wednesday, March 11.
Crews from Smith-Rowe LLC, of Mount Airy, began replacing the 64-year-old bridges on U.S. 52 over Toms Creek in 2024, first installing a temporary structure as a detour before replacing the first bridge on U.S. 52 South.
To complete the traffic shift, crews must close U.S. 52 South near Toms Creek beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday. A signed detour will guide drivers around the closure by taking U.S. 52 to Old U.S. 52 then N.C. 268 before returning to U.S. 52. The road will reopen with the new alignment by 6 a.m.
Once U.S. 52 South traffic shifts to the new alignment, crews will connect the temporary bridge to the northbound lanes, remove the existing U.S. 52 North bridge and build a new bridge in its place.
“Opening the new bridge will bring us into the last half of this crucial bridge replacement project,” said Tyler Kane, assistant resident engineer for NCDOT covering Surry, Yadkin and Alleghany counties. “Our team will continue to minimize impacts to traffic as we switch efforts to U.S. 52 North.”
The contract calls for all construction to finish in summer 2027.
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