Interstate 40, N.C. Highway 86 and Old N.C. 86 in Orange County are likely going to be well-traveled this weekend as people come in and out of the greater Chapel Hill region. But the North Carolina Department of Transportation is warning drivers to be ready for some lane closures.

The department shared a release on Friday saying crews will be out on the three roads throughout the weekend to inspect storm drains. The closures will primarily take place either overnight or in the early morning hours.

From 9 p.m. on Friday through 4 a.m. on Saturday, NCDOT crews plan to close a stretch of I-40 East. The far left lane from mile marker 269 to 270, near the ramps for U.S. 15-501 in Chapel Hill and Durham, will be marked off limits to drivers.

Next on Saturday morning, between 6 to 9 a.m., crews will then close one lane in each direction of N.C. 86 near the Eubanks Road intersection in Chapel Hill — which is also just off of I-40.

Finally, the crew will migrate to Old N.C. 86 near the I-40 exchange. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., crews plan to close one lane in each direction to check the storm drains.

The inspections come after heavy rain and strong winds in the Triangle on Wednesday afternoon. But NCDOT says the closures and inspections are actually part of preliminary work on the widening of I-40 in Orange County. Once completed, an 11-mile stretch of interstate will have six lanes instead of four and modified interchanges.

 

Photo via AA Roads/Alex Nitzman and Brent Ivy.

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