BOONE – Drivers should prepare to see construction activity on N.C. 105 this week as the first phase of an N.C. Department of Transportation bridge replacement project nears completion in Watauga County.
Crews from Wright Brothers Construction have finished most paving operations for the first phase of the project replacing the bridge on N.C. 105 over the Watauga River.
Over the next several weeks, crews may reduce traffic to a one-lane pattern on N.C. 105 near the Watauga River from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays to finish construction activities like guardrail installation, signal coordination and pavement marking installation.
Flaggers and law enforcement officers will direct traffic during closures.
Motorists should allow additional travel time, avoid distracted driving and obey posted signs and flaggers.
Transportation officials expect to shift traffic to the new bridge later this summer. Once traffic is shifted to the new bridge, crews will remove the existing bridge and build the rest of the new bridge in its place.
The entire $48.7 million project is anticipated to finish in late 2027.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.