Weekend construction will affect traffic to downtown Raleigh

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Another day, another growing pain.

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North Carolina's Department of Transportation crews on Friday will close a section of Capital Boulevard at Wade Avenue, forcing drivers to take a small detour on their way downtown. The closure is from 7 p.m. Friday night to 6 a.m. Monday morning.

"It's one of the necessary evils of construction," NCDOT spokesman Steve Abbott told ABC11. "You have to do an interference for a little while, but it's all worth it when you see what happens when it's finished."

Indeed, the $36.9 million project is sure to improve everything from the traffic to the very image of Downtown Raleigh. At Capital Boulevard, crews are building a new bridge-ramp on Wade Avenue, along with a widening of the main corridor into downtown.

At Peace Street, crews are replacing a 67-year-old bridge as the centerpiece of a total revamp of the interchange, with the current diamond-style interchange now in use replaced by a square-loop-shape interchange that will eliminate the existing ramp directly to Peace Street.

There will also be bike lanes added along Peace Street between the interchange ramps, and sidewalks will be widened to 14 feet along Peace Street and most of the square loop.

According to the NCDOT, the "very short detour" will be the same that has been used for earlier southbound lane closures at the same location. Vehicles will be detoured off the boulevard at the exit ramp for Wade Avenue, cross over the road and use the entrance ramp for southbound Capital Boulevard to continue toward downtown.

Raleigh Police will help handle traffic control, as at times vehicles on the brief detour will have to stop for traffic going from eastbound Wade Avenue onto northbound Capital Boulevard.