Road to reopen to traffic by Dec. 31, weather permitting
On Tuesday, June 2, the NC Department of Transportation will close a 1.2 mile-long section of U.S. 301 in Nash County while crews with Palmetto Infratructure Inc. of Greenville, S.C. begin work replacing several bridges along U.S. 301 and widening the road between Battleboro and Whitakers.
U.S. 301 will be closed to traffic between N.C. 4 in Battleboro and N.C. 33 in Whitakers until December 31, weather permitting. Crews will replace the bridges over Swift Creek and the Swift Creek overflow. They will also widen U.S. 301 and extend two drainage culverts under the road.
The purpose of this $5.1 million project is to improve safety along this stretch of U.S. 301. The three bridges being replaced were constructed in 1920. They were built to outdated design standards and need to be replaced to handle current and future traffic demands. This section of U.S. 301 is also narrow and does not meet modern width standards, resulting in a high rate of crashes at this location.
A signed detour will be in place for through traffic. Motorists will use N.C. 33, N.C. 4/48 and N.C. 4 to travel around the construction site. Some truck traffic will be directed onto Gaskill Farm Road and Johnston Road. Local traffic will be able to access the area, but will not be able to cross sites where work is taking place.
By closing the entire road and doing all of the work at once, crews will be able to finish the work in a shorter amount of time than if the road had remained open and work was performed with lane closures.
Motorists are advised to use caution while traveling in the area and to expect delays.
