Road work to resume on crumbling I-40/440 work zone
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The NCDOT is taking advantage of warmer weather to make long-awaited repairs to the I-40/440 work zone in Raleigh.
Steve Abbott, NCDOT Spokesperson, tells ABC11 that a crumbling roadway is why they started the project in the first place, but recent rounds of winter weather have made conditions worse.
"My vehicle - it's horrible," said Misael Zambrana, who drives through the construction zone every day to get to work. "I can hear popping noises in my suspension because of all the bumps."
Not only are portions of the eight-mile-long construction site riddled with pot holes and deep grooves, but Abbott said reflective mile markers have been missing since the snow storm in late January when DOT plows scraped them up as they treated the roads.
"It's pretty hard to tell where the line ends and where it starts, especially when you're merging," Zambrana said.
Finally this week, Abbott said temperatures have climbed high enough for crews to smooth things over and replace the markers. He said by Saturday morning, drivers using the westbound lanes should experience a smoother ride that's easier to navigate.
"These are all Band-Aid things, even the overlay they're putting down," Abbott said of the thin layer of asphalt that crews are now pouring in the westbound lanes. "These are temporary fixes because economically, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot - millions of dollars - to put things up brand new when in a few months, we're going to be chewing it up."
Abbott said by late spring, lanes will shift once more. The DOT is planning to open the new stretch of roadway to drivers by April so crews can begin working on the other side.
