Section of road to close for work
By From staff reports
Published in News on July 26, 2015 1:50 AM
Beginning Monday, the state Department of Transportation will close a section of U.S. 70 Business/Peedin Road Extension at its intersection with U.S. 70 in Johnston County.
The closure will allow work crews to convert the intersection into an interchange by building a bridge that will carry U.S. 70 Business/Peedin Road Extension over U.S. 70, with ramps providing access for traffic in all directions between the two roads.
Highway officials said the project will improve traffic flow along U.S. 70 between Selma and Princeton.
During the closure traffic will use Firetower Road to cross U.S. 70.
Gor-An Farm Road also will be accessible during the closure. U.S. 70 will remain open to traffic during the project, with intermittent lane closures in place as crews place steel beams for the bridge.
An average of more than 29,000 vehicles use U.S. 70 through this area daily, DOT officials say. This is expected to increase to 45,000 by 2035.
Currently, traffic on the U.S. 70 Business/Peedin Road Extension crossing U.S. 70 has to stop and wait for traffic to clear before crossing U.S. 70. By converting it to an interchange, traffic will be separated from traffic on U.S. 70, reducing the risk of crossover accidents.
In addition to constructing the interchange, the $16.7 million project also includes plans to construct a similar interchange to the east at the intersection of Stevens Chapel Road/Davis Mill Road with U.S. 70.
Preliminary work on this project will begin later this month, and the closure of the section of Stevens Chapel Road/Davis Mill Road at U.S. 70 is expected to begin this fall.
By closing the road to traffic at these locations, the DOT will be able to speed up the overall construction time of these interchanges by six months to a year, officials said.
To help eliminate the possibility of crossover accidents at other locations in this area, crews will also remove the existing median crossovers on U.S. 70 at Firetower Road, Peedin Road/Creech's Mill Road and Pine Street.
Traffic on these routes will be able to turn right onto U.S. 70, but will have to turn right, proceed to the next break in the median and make a U-turn in order to turn left onto U.S. 70.
All work is expected to be complete by July of 2017.
Motorists are advised to use caution while traveling in the area and to expect delays. DOT officials remind motorists to watch signs for construction information, stay alert and obey the posted speed limit.
For real-time travel information people can call 511, visit the Traveler Services section of the DOT website or follow the DOT on Twitter.
People can also access NCDOT Mobile, a version of the DOT website especially for mobile devices. Visit ncdot.gov from your mobile browser.