ORANGE COUNTY – Good news for commuters this holiday season– the N.C. Department of Transportation will suspend most road construction on major routes across the state in hopes of making your trip a little smoother.

Spokesman Steve Abbot said that the DOT hopes to alleviate traffic delays so motorists can reach their destinations more quickly while also cutting down on fuel consumption and costs.

“We want to help the travelers get where they are trying to go, especially trying to get over to see relatives and so forth,” Abbot said.  “We shut down construction that causes lane closures for almost all of our projects across the state, especially on the interstates and the major highways.”

Most construction projects along the interstate, N.C. and U.S. Interstate routes will be suspended until Monday, Jan. 6, at 9:00 a.m. Work was stopped on Friday.

Abbot said that there are six exceptions that should be noted. Those include the two lanes of the I-40 West ramp onto I-440 West  in Wake County that will remain reduced to one lane. I-440 West will remain in a two-lane pattern from I-40 toward U.S. 64/264 as a part of the Fortify project.

I-73 in Greensboro will remain reduced to two lanes in each direction between I-40 and I-85 to build a new interchange with High Point Road.

Though construction work won’t be going on in Orange County, Abbot said there are still some areas to be cautious of.

“Drivers on I-40 West, where the road narrows down to two lanes just outside of Chapel Hill—that is always a back-up during the holiday time. You are actually going from three lanes down to two, and from the sheer volume [of cars], it causes that back up. So plan ahead. In that case, drivers can get around that location by using the Durham Freeway,” Abbot said.  

For real-time travel information at any time, Abbot said you can call 511, visit the NCDOT website, or follow NCDOT on Twitter.

The NCDOT Mobile also offers a phone-friendly version of its website providing up-to-the-minute traffic information. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smart phone.

Construction Projects Underway Over Holidays

  • In Raleigh (Wake County), the two lanes of the I-40 West ramp onto I-440 West will remain reduced to one lane and I-440 West will remain in a two-lane pattern from I-40 toward U.S. 64/264 as a part of the Fortifyproject;
  • U.S. 1 just north of Aberdeen (Moore County) will remain reduced to one lane in each direction for construction of a new bridge;
  • U.S. 158 (Elizabeth Street) in Elizabeth City will remain reduced to one lane in each direction over the Pasquotank River for resurfacing and construction of a new bridge;
  • The Wright Memorial Bridge (Currituck and Dare counties) on U.S. 158 West will remain closed for deck repair. All traffic will continue traveling on the eastbound bridge, one lane in each direction;
  • U.S. 13 will remain closed to all traffic north of Windsor (Bertie County) for replacement of the bridge over the Cashie River. A signed detour currently in place will take traffic on School Road, N.C. 308 and the U.S. 13/U.S. 17 Bypass; and
  • I-73 in Greensboro (Guilford County) will remain reduced to two lanes in each direction between I-40 and I-85 to build a new interchange with High Point Road.

 

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