WILMINGTON – CSX Corp. has informed the N.C. Department of Transportation it needs to temporarily close U.S. 421 south of the Interstate 140 junction for track maintenance.
A CSX contractor plans to begin the closure at 6 a.m. Jan. 10 where its tracks cross U.S. 421 just south of Sutton Steam Plant Road on the outskirts of Wilmington. The company will conduct maintenance and repairs to its railroad crossing.
Because this location is between two rivers, a marked detour by CSX will send drivers on an approximately 10-mile detour via U.S. 74 (Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway), N.C. 133 and I-140 at exits 14 and 17.
The department will work with CSX officials to expedite the track maintenance and reopen the highway as soon as possible. NCDOT maintenance crews and equipment will assist the CSX contractor in removing the asphalt around the railroad crossing. When finished with the track work, the contractor will replace the asphalt to help make the vehicular ride over the crossing smooth.
NCDOT and CSX officials anticipate the track maintenance will require no more than five days to complete, but the highway could be reopened as early as three days, if the weather cooperates.