The N.C. Department of Transportation will close varying lanes of Jake Alexander Boulevard at Julian Road, starting Monday, to complete widening work and improvements at the intersection. Crews will conduct paving and curb and gutter work, as well as modify traffic signals.
The work is expected to take two to three weeks to complete. Weather permitting, the work will begin each day at 8:30 a.m. and end by 4 p.m. Contractor J.T. Russell and Sons Inc. of Albemarle can also schedule crews to work overnight from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. if needed. No work will occur during the morning or evening rush hours.
Motorists may experience some congestion in the work zone, so the Transportation Department encourages them to go slowly, follow construction-related signs and allow plenty of time to reach their destinations safely.
The project includes several improvements at the intersection:
• The ramp on U.S. 29 will transition into a right turn lane for traffic traveling from Jake Alexander Boulevard onto Julian Road.
• Additional lanes will be added for the traffic on Julian Road turning onto Jake Alexander Boulevard or traveling to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Not only will the work make travel safer and more efficient, the Transportation Department says, it will also improve traffic flow through the area when the state closes Klumac Road later this year to elevate it onto a bridge over the railroad tracks. The Julian Road-Jake Alexander Boulevard intersection will be part of the detour route when the bridge project begins.