Transportation

Construction of a new bridge spanning Sunset Avenue over Wesleyan Boulevard temporarily closed Weslayan.

By Corey Davis

If you’re a motorist that has driven around town, chances are you’ve probably had to stop because of some road work taking place.

Currently, crews are at work on the U.S. 301 Bypass widen project. In June 2017, the Department of Transportation awarded a $28 million contract for the project to PLT-RBP JV Construction in Wilson.

Crews have been working on a two-mile section of U.S. 301 Bypass between Benvenue Road and May Drive that started by Inchiban Japanese Steakhouse and will end by Golden East Crossing mall, where the roads will widen from four lanes to six lanes by adding an additional lane in each direction with a hybrid synchronized street design.

Also, two bridges have been replaced — one being over Stony Creek as the new bridge will better be able to handle potential floodwaters, officials said. The bridge over U.S. 64 on Sunset Avenue has been replaced to improve height clearance and accommodate the road widening.

Past traffic accident data reported during a five-year stretch revealed 233 crashes, 103 injuries and one fatality on the U.S. 301 corridor.

“The whole objective is safety because with (U.S.) 301 being such a high-volume area that we’ve had quite a lot of accidents, but we think this project is going to revoluntionize that road and really help with economy and businesses there once we get it done,” said Rocky Mount businessman Gus Tulloss, Division 4 state Board of Transportation member.

Smaller ongoing road projects include an $8 million project to widen Hunter Hill Road to four lanes from Country Club Road to Winstead Avenue. In Edgecombe County, a $5 million project will widen Springfield Road from alternate U.S. 64 to Leggett Road.

Tulloss said there will be several other road projects that will be constructed in the Twin Counties between this year and 2022. The projects include a more than $45 million project on Interstate 95 at Sunset Avenue to add an interchange and widen the road to multi-lanes.

Other projects down the road inclued an estimated $16 million project to replace the bridge and upgrade the interchange at I-95 and N.C. 4. In addition, a more than $30 million project to add multi-lanes at Eastern Avenue from Red Oak Road to Old Carriage Road, and a more than $28 million project for Old Carriage Road from Green Hills Road to Eastern Avenue to add a center turn lane and widen the bridge over U.S. 64.

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64 | ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA | 2018