A long-term project to widen Interstate 40 in Orange County will shut down an on-ramp for approximately three months.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation will be closing the ramp connecting I-85 South to I-40 East, beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday, June 1.

NCDOT officials say the closure is “necessary for bridge repairs and pavement replacement,” and the projected three-month closure is weather permitting. Drivers will be detoured to the US-70 connector at Exit 161 to access I-40 East.

The Department of Transportation urged drivers to plan ahead for potential traffic delays and asked them to be alert when following detours around the work zone. Real-time travel information can be found on the NCDOT’s website and social media pages during the closures.

Other updates from NCDOT on the project — which are dated from Feb. 2025 on the project website — include shifting the traffic on I-40 to the new inside lanes to begin work on the outside shoulders of the interstate. Additionally, the concrete batch plant at the Chapel Hill exchange with N.C. 86 is operational and contractors have successfully installed 80 new drainage pipes under the interstate. Grading the median throughout the entire length of the 11.4-mile project is complete with the exception of areas where work vehicles are parked, and the bridges over Millhouse Road are continuing to be widened — but will require more time than the department’s initial May 2025 estimate. NCDOT now projects Millhouse Road to reopen “late this winter.”

Featured image via NCDOT, depicting a portion of the I-40 widening project.

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