SMITHFIELD – The NC Department of Transportation announced Friday they will install a bridge on Galilee Road near Smithfield where flash flooding swept away a car on the night of August 31st killing two children. Five year-old Alexa Castro and her four year-old brother, Abraham Martinez Jr., died when their mother’s car was swept off the two lane road. Their bodies were later recovered.
Instead of replacing a damaged culvert under Galilee Road, a bridge will be built. A timeline on when construction of the new bridge can begin will be announced soon.
Andrew Barksdale, Public Relations Officer with the NC DOT, said they are doing an emergency contract for the new bridge and hope construction can be started this fall.
Over 60 roads were impacted by the Aug. 31st flash flooding. Besides Galilee Road, two other roads still remain closed in Johnston County.
North Johnson Road and King Mill Road are still closed. The NC DOT anticipates those two secondary roads will reopen no later than December 31, 2020.
As soon as the NC DOT announces the construction date for the new Galilee Road bridge we will let you know.
