Bridge is now open
By From staff reports
Published in News on November 14, 2013 1:46 PM
Traffic on Salem Church Road began using a new bridge between Titleist Drive and Belfast Road this week.
The bridge is part of a larger state Department of Transportation project to construct the western section of the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass in Wayne County.
Traffic on Salem Church Road is currently being shifted to one lane of the new two-lane bridge.
The bridge will carry traffic on Salem Church Road over the western portion of the bypass. A lane closure will be in place on the bridge so crews can complete paving operations. All paving on the bridge should be done by the end of the day today, weather permitting.
A $62.4 million contract was awarded to S.T. Wooten Corp. of Wilson in July 2012 for this 5.9-mile western section of the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass. The four-lane divided highway will go from U.S. 70 west of Goldsboro to Interstate 795. Interchanges will be constructed at U.S. 70 and N.C. 581. The project is currently ahead of schedule and is approximately 40 percent complete. This section of the project is currently scheduled to be completed by spring 2016, weather permitting.
The U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass is a three-part project estimated to cost a total of $246 million. Once complete, the 20-mile bypass will span from U.S. 70 just west of N.C. 581 in Wayne County to U.S. 70 just east of Promise Land Road in Lenoir County.
The first 3.9-mile section of the bypass, signed as N.C.44, opened to traffic in December 2011 from I-795 to Wayne Memorial Drive north of Goldsboro. Once the east and west sections are complete, this section will be resigned as the U.S. 70 Bypass.
A $104.4 million design-build contract was awarded to Barnhill Contracting Co. of Tarboro in February 2012 for construction of the 12.5-mile eastern section of the bypass. Interchanges will be constructed at U.S. 13, Parkstown Road and U.S. 70. This project is currently more than 30 percent complete and is currently scheduled to be completed by July 2015, weather permitting.