A old bridge of Interstate 40 in Hillsborough is set to be demolished as the North Carolina Department of Transportation continues work on widening the road in Orange County.

NCDOT shared an alert on Monday saying a section of Old North Carolina Highway 86 will be closed to traffic starting on Monday night, as crews will be doing “demolition activities” on the bridge of I-40 that runs over the road. The release said the nightly closures will begin at 9 p.m. Monday and run to 5 a.m. Tuesday, and will continue from 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. each night through May 20 as the weather permits.

Much of Old N.C. 86 will still be accessible, but the closure will affect the stretch between the westbound and eastbound ramps to the interstate. As a result, a signed detour will encourage motorists around the work zone by taking Waterstone Drive, N.C. 86 and New Hope Church Road to travel north-south in the area.

The Interstate 40-Old N.C. 86 exchange in Hillsborough, taken Feb. 2025. Construction on the westbound lanes of I-40 over the road are now complete and the NCDOT is preparing to demolish the bridge of eastbound lanes. (Photo via the North Carolina Department of Transportation.)

The closure is similar to the one NCDOT made in March 2024 to gradually demolish the westbound lanes of I-40 that bridge over Old N.C. 86. Since then, a new and wider bridge was constructed closer to the older part and traffic has been shifted to run over the new bridge.

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 initial May 2025 estimate. NCDOT now projects Millhouse Road to reopen “late this winter.”

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