Change will improve safety, traffic flow
The N.C. Department of Transportation will permanently close the intersection of Firetower Road at U.S. 70 in Johnston County later this month.
The department will close the southern connection of the road at U.S. 70 on Monday, Feb. 26, and then close its northern connection at U.S. 70 the following week on Monday, March 5. The closure will improve safety and traffic flow on U.S. 70.
To access the highway from Firetower Road, motorists will use the nearby U.S. 70 interchange at U.S. 70 Business that opened last fall.
“This change will provide for safer traffic movements and reduce the risk of crashes for motorists entering or exiting U.S. 70,” said Brandon Herring, the department’s Deputy Construction Engineer in the Wilson office.
As part of the same project, another newly constructed interchange opened last fall at the intersection of U.S. 70 and Davis Mill Road/Stevens Chapel Road. This interchange is about 2.5 miles east of Firetower Road and includes a bridge and ramps to replace the existing intersection.
This section of U.S. 70 has an average of more than 29,000 vehicles a day – a figure expected to reach 45,000 vehicles by 2035. The $16.7 million project by Flatiron Constructors Inc. of Broomfield, Colo., began in 2015 and is scheduled to wrap up later this year.
