WILKESBORO – The N.C. Department of Transportation will shift traffic at U.S. 421 intersection to a new and safer pattern next week.
Beginning Sunday, Oct. 11, drivers desiring to turn left onto or cross U.S. 421 at the Addison Avenue intersection (between KFC and Hardee’s) will first turn right onto U.S. 421, then use a designated, signalized U-turn lane to turn around onto the highway. Drivers on U.S. 421 can still turn left onto Addison Avenue or to the Lowes Foods shopping center using a designated lane and signal.
All turning movements for this intersection will be signalized. Crews installed digital message boards and set the new signals to a flashing pattern on Oct. 4 to alert drivers to the upcoming change.
This shift is part of an $81 million project converting intersections along a 2-mile stretch of U.S. 421 from N.C. 16 to U.S. 421 Business in Wilkes County to reduced conflict intersections. The Winkler Mill Road and U.S. 421 Business intersections were previously shifted to this pattern.
“We’re reducing the number of potential conflict points between drivers along this high-traffic section of U.S. 421,” said Scott Pipes, resident engineer for NCDOT in Wilkes and Ashe counties. “While we’ve already converted two other intersections on this corridor to follow this pattern, we encourage drivers to remain mindful of others as we bring this intersection into the fold.”
Reduced conflict intersections simplify how traffic moves and can reduce total crashes by 50%, according to NCDOT crash data. They have reduced frontal impact crashes, like head-on or T-bone collisions, by 80%.
Crews from NCDOT contractor Branch Civil Inc. are scheduled to finish all construction for the project in fall 2027.
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