By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY – The new Woodleaf Road bridge over North Second Creek should be open by the end of this year, state transportation officials said Wednesday.
Since June 25, the road has been closed between Godbey Road and Goodson Road, forcing Woodleaf drivers to take a wide detour when traveling to and from Salisbury.
Dara Demi, a spokeswoman with the N.C. Department of Transportation, said construction is still on schedule to finish by Dec. 31
“Our hope is if the weather holds out for us, we might be able to open the bridge earlier than that,” Demi said. “We understand that it’s not always convenient for folks who live around there to have to take a detour route, and we’re trying to get the bridge open as quickly as possible.”
While Woodleaf Road is closed to through traffic, motorists are told to take the following signed detour routes around the work zone:
• Traveling east: Take N.C. 801 South to Statesville Boulevard to Woodleaf Road.
• Traveling west: Take Statesville Boulevard to N.C. 801 North to Woodleaf Road.
A $1.3 million contract for the project was awarded to Lee Construction Company of the Carolinas Inc. of Charlotte.
According to project engineers, Demi said, five to six months is an average timeframe for replacing a bridge this size.
“We still have some grading work to do out there, and some paving work,” she said. “We also need to install the railing on the bridge and install some guardrail along the roadways leading up to the bridge.”
The existing bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 2 out of 100. That does not mean the bridge is unsafe, the transportation department has said. It means the bridge was not built to modern design standards and no longer meets the needs of today’s drivers.
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.
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