DELCO – Two median locations that allowed left turns from U.S. 74/76 along a stretch in Columbus County have been closed to improve safety.
The N.C. Department of Transportation installed the raised median last year along the four-lane highway through Delco. The work was part of a larger contract to install a traffic signal and reconfigure the odd-shaped intersection of N.C. 87 at U.S. 74/76 in Delco, as this 2017 public meeting map shows.
The project allowed eastbound drivers on U.S. 74/76 to turn left onto Delco School Road and also left into the nearby driveway of the ACME-Delco Middle School. They could turn left when there was a safe opening in opposing traffic, which does not stop.
NCDOT has decided to close these two median openings because certain large vehicles and traffic conditions in the opposing direction can make it difficult for some drivers to turn left. Restricting left turns at these two locations will prevent crashes involving left-turning traffic.
Barrels have been placed to restrict these two turns until the concrete medians can be reconstructed in September. The work will take about two weeks to complete and require temporary lane closures for the safety of the workers and motorists.