The N.C. Department of Transportation will close I-85 at the Belmont Road interchange in Davidson County, starting Tuesday, May 29. The closure is necessary to allow crews to safely and efficiently remove three columns that supported the old Belmont Road bridge.
NCDOT will close one lane of I-85 in each direction at 8 p.m. Crews will close the remaining lane at 10 p.m. They will reopen all lanes by 6 a.m. Wednesday, May 30.
While the closure is in place, motorists will follow a signed detour route. They will take the I-85 exit ramp at Belmont Road (Exit 86), cross over Belmont Road and follow the entrance ramp at Exit 86 back to I-85. Law enforcement officers will be present to assist with traffic flow.
The department expects the closure to cause significant traffic congestion. Drivers can use Old Salisbury Road, which runs parallel to I-85, to avoid the area.
NCDOT encourages drivers to go slow and allow additional time to reach their destinations safely while traveling near the work zone. Throughout construction, traffic flow can be monitored on the project website at www.i-85yadkinriver2.com/camera.html.
The work is part of the northern segment of NCDOT’s I-85 Corridor Improvement Project, the state’s number-one mobility project. The Belmont Road bridge replacement was designed not only to provide motorists with a safer, more efficient way to cross over I-85, but also to accommodate interstate widening along the corridor.
NCDOT broke ground in September 2010 on the southern segment of the I-85 Corridor Improvement Project, which involves replacing eight bridges, widening 3.3 miles of I-85 and reconstructing the N.C. 150 interchange. The northern segment extends the interstate widening by an additional 3.8 miles from north of N.C. 150 to just north of I-85 Business. Work on both phases is concurrent and scheduled to be complete by May 2013.