Construction causes delays for holiday travelers on I-85 near Henderson
Transportation officials say motorists traveling between Virginia and North Carolina on Interstate 85 during the Fourth of July holiday can expect heavy delays because of construction near the state border.
Posted — UpdatedA statement from the N.C. Department of Transportation says there are two sections of the interstate where four lanes of traffic are reduced to two because of work to reconstruct the northbound lanes. Traffic has been shifted onto the southbound side of I-85 in those two locations, creating a two-lane, two-way pattern.
One shift is between mile markers 213.5 and 218.5, about 20 miles from the state line. The other is just a few miles south of the state line, between mile markers 226 and 230.
On Friday morning, a crash on the southbound lanes of Interstate 85 caused additional chaos for holiday drivers near Henderson.
Steve Furbush, who was traveling from Maryland to Concord, said the backup added an additional 40 minutes to his trip.
"It was pretty slow there for a long time," he said.
For northbound drivers, the delays were not quite as bad.
"I was expecting worse today and it has been a little bit," said Marty Riley.
The crash cleared at about 1 p.m., but traffic remained slow. Furbush said patience is required when hitting the road over a holiday weekend.
"You can't change the situation," he said. "Just relax and stay in your lane and stop all the crazy driving."
Motorists are encouraged to check the Travel Services section of the NCDOT website.
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