Answer: The closing of Webb Road is not permanent. It is one of six railroad crossings from Salisbury to Kannapolis that will be upgraded.

A total of six railroad crossings from Salisbury to Kannapolis will be permanently closed. Those crossings include: Reid Farm Road in Salisbury, Mount Hope Church Road in China Grove, Tom Street in China Grove, North Central Avenue in Landis, East Mill Street in Landis and 29th Street in Kannapolis.

The closings are part of a project dubbed the Piedmont Improvement Plan by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The Piedmont Improvement Program will add two Amtrak trips between Raleigh and Charlotte, which would make five total trips daily.

The project will involve constructing 11 miles of second track along the railroad corridor in Rowan. The second track will increase capacity, according to DOT’s project summary.

The Rowan portion of the project is one of three that will add approximately 25 miles of new second track, according to DOT. Once the project is done, DOT’s project summary states 92 miles of uninterrupted double track will span the distance between Greensboro and Charlotte, which is the busiest railroad corridor in North Carolina, according to DOT.

The Piedmont Improvement Plan will also separate the road surface from railroad tracks in several locations. Two in Rowan County include Peeler Road and Klumac Road. Both projects are currently under way.

The total estimated construction cost of the Rowan portion of the project is $51.2 million, according to DOT estimates. Construction started in February 2014, and the Salisbury to Kannapolis improvements are scheduled to be complete in May 2017.

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