WINSTON-SALEM – The closure date for Business 40 has changed, with the new date and time being Saturday, Nov. 17, at 6 a.m.
The following downtown road bridges will also close at the same time: Liberty Street, Main Street and Church Street, as well as the Strollway pedestrian bridge. All of them will be replaced with new bridges.
N.C. Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Mezak Tucker said recent rain and the forecast of additional rain, combined with the cooler temperatures, means it is taking longer for soil to dry at the site of the Peters Creek Parkway project. That project had been scheduled to close this weekend to tie in the second phase of the new parkway bridge as part of the overall Business 40 project. Because of the soil conditions, however, that closure is also being changed from this Saturday to Saturday, Nov. 10.
“We have said all along that the contractor has given us a very aggressive schedule to reduce the length of the construction time (of Business 40),” Tucker said. “Our goal continues to be an overall reduction in the impact on citizens. But weather is always a factor in meeting those deadlines.”
The Business 40 closure covers a 1.2-mile section between Peters Creek Parkway and U.S. 52. When it closes on Nov. 17, all traffic will be diverted to I-40, Peters Creek Parkway and U.S. 52.
Only the 1.2-mile portion in downtown Winston-Salem will be closed. The sections between downtown Winston-Salem and the I-40 splits, near Clemmons and the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, will remain open.
Even though the construction of Business 40 and 11 new bridges is slated to last up to two years, efforts are underway to open the road in early 2020.
The $99.2 million project will include:
- Replacing the existing roadway pavement
- Modernizing entrance and exit ramps
- Replacing nine vehicular bridges and two pedestrian bridges
- Lengthening the acceleration and deceleration lanes between ramps
- Widening existing roadway shoulders and adding new shoulders
- Building portions of a multi-use path from Lockland Avenue to Liberty Street
Additional information is available at
www.business40nc.com, on
Facebook or online using #Biz40NC.