ORANGE COUNTY – Your detour from southbound on South Coulumbia Street will soon come to an end.

Next Tuesday or Wednesday the sidewalk on S. Columbia will open to pedestrians again.  All summer traffic has been one-way, north bound, on S. Columbia, but this one-way traffic is set to end on August 13, and two-way traffic will resume again.

Construction crews report that the work on the road remains on schedule and is expected to be fully completed by July 2014.

The project on S. Columbia is meant to make the road safer for all who use it by adding bus pull outs, sidewalks to both sides, bike lanes, and improved traffic flow.

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Work to preserve four bridges in Hillsborough may begin as early as August 1 and completion is expected by June 30 of next year.

The NCDOT awarded this contract to Seminole Equipment Inc. of Tarpon Florida along with four more in Alamance County.

The contract includes preservation of the Churton Street Bridge over the Eno River, N.C. 86 bridge over Interstate 85, and I-85 bridges over Orange Grove.

This project is part of NCDOT’s state-funded bridge plan for 2011-2013 which calls for preservation or rehabilitation of current bridges when possible.

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Hillsborough has closed Kings Highway Park through the fall to dredge and make repairs to the dam at Lake Ben Johnston.

The work could last until November; during this time citizens are asked not to walk the trails or visit the park.