The Interstate 40 widening project is still ongoing through Orange County, with the 11-mile effort shooting past its initial estimated completion of summer 2026. But one new element of the changes is ready to go for Chapel Hill drivers.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation officially activated the new west-bound on-ramp for Highway 86 on Saturday. As part of the I-40 road work, a new design for the exchange moved the on-ramp from an intersection with the road and the west-bound off-ramp to a new spot across from Whitfield Road. The existing traffic signal will aid traffic turning from Highway 86 onto the ramp, as well as traffic turning onto and leaving Whitfield Road.

With the updated on-ramp now active and the old one closed, NCDOT crews can now work on completing a new off-ramp for west-bound I-40 traffic. Unlike the current pattern when drivers exit before the Highway 86 bridge, the new exit will start after the bridge and curve right to reach the highway’s intersection with Whitfield Road.

The current designs for Interstate 40’s exchange with Highway 86 in Chapel Hill, which features the west-bound off-ramp from Exit 266 being removed and rerouted to under the highway’s bridge. The new ramp designs are in yellow, while the current designs are shaded in grey, which means they are designated for removal. (Photo via the North Carolina Department of Transportation.)

Rerouting the west-bound off-ramp under the bridge and connecting it to the traffic signal at Whitfield Road will allow NCDOT to remove the existing signal from the old on/off-ramps and better improve traffic flow along the exchange. The east-bound on/off-ramps and traffic signals will not be redesigned in the project, although a new crosswalk and traffic island are expected to be added near the Eubanks Road intersection.

Part of the Highway 86 exchange’s facelift amid the construction of two new I-40 lanes was the addition of a concrete batch plant. Even with the new on-ramp being used, the plant is still active. In a May update, NCDOT said more than 95,000 cubic yards of concrete have been batched so far by the machine.

With the change, all drivers along Highway 86 near the I-40 on-ramps are encouraged by NCDOT to stay alert and be aware of the updated traffic flow. Real-time traffic data can be found on the department’s Drive NC website.

Featured image by Chapel Hill Media Group.

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