Beginning Monday at 11 p.m., crews will be grinding out the rumble strips along the edge of the outside lane on both I-440 eastbound and westbound between the I-40/I-440/U.S. Highway 64 split and the bridge over Crabtree Creek just north of the U.S. Highway 64/264 exit. The work should wrap up by 5 a.m. the next day.
The work means the outside travel lanes on both the east and westbound sides of I-440 will be closed off each night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., through Saturday morning.
Next month, daytime lane closures will begin. Eventually construction will reach all the way to U.S. Highway 1 in Cary.
North Carolina DOT officials estimate it will take three years to replace the malfunctioning and crumbling concrete foundation of the nearly 12-mile stretch of road.
After sponsoring a contest that spawned the nickname "Crawleigh" for the project, DOT officials decided they didn't like it. They are now trying to lessen the pain to come by putting a positive spin on it.
All the while they are trying to lessen the misery by asking nearly a third of commuters, nearly 30,000 drivers a day, to find alternate routes, take public transit, or even work from home by telecommuting.
That merited laughs from many people ABC11 spoke with.
"I can't tend to inmates from a computer," said commuter Sandie Wallace. "I work at a correctional facility, so I have to actually be there."
"That is ridiculous," said commuter Courtney Thorpe. "I can't work from home."
The nighttime lane closures will continue until Thanksgiving. The first taste of the daytime lane closures will happen just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
The entire project scheduled to wrap up by the fall of 2016.
See It On TV | Report A Typo |
Send Tip |
Get Alerts | Send us photos
Follow @abc11 on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
