LUMBERTON – Drivers will be detoured around the West Second Street bridge in downtown Lumberton starting at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 21.
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will begin operations to replace the bridge that evening, necessitating a closure until the spring of 2025. The half-mile detour will use West Fifth and North Water streets. The signs announcing the closure were posted today.
Smith-Rowe LLC of Mount Airy earned the $6.8 million contract to replace the 89-year-old bridge in July as the lowest qualified bidder.
The bridge, which carries 13,000 vehicles each day over the Lumber River, is a primary route into downtown. The new bridge will include these features:
- A 14-foot travel lane in each direction
- The addition of a 12-foot center turn lane will allow the contractor to add a left-turn lane at the signalized intersections on either end of what was formerly a two-lane bridge
- A guardrail similar to the structure's present rail barrier
- Five-foot sidewalks on either side
In addition, the bridge will be constructed to accommodate decorative lightning similar to the current bridge; the city of Lumberton will install the lighting before the bridge is opened to traffic.