CLAYTON – Traffic will be shifted Wednesday night onto the new lanes of N.C. 42 where an N.C. Department of Transportation contractor is widening the highway.
The shift will occur beginning at 8 p.m. under the direction of flaggers on N.C. 42 between Castleberry Road and Tuscan Ridge Drive. The two-way traffic will be shifted onto the newly paved lanes, so that the rest of the highway can be rebuilt.
As part of the shift, Tuscan Ridge Drive will be reopened at N.C. 42, but the highway's junction with nearby Verona Drive will close. A detour will send people to the Tuscan Ridge Drive entrance of the subdivision while Verona Drive is closed during construction.
The traffic shift is expected to be completed by 6 a.m. Thursday.
Motorists should slow down, proceed cautiously and watch for workers while going through the work zone.
The contractor is widening the highway to four lanes with a raised median between Glen Laurel Road and Buffalo Road east of Clayton. The improvements will reduce congestion, improve safety and better accommodate population growth. The new lanes are expected to open by the fall of 2022.