Eastbound lanes of Cary Parkway to reopen for Monday commute

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that crews will reopen the eastbound lanes between Two Creeks Road/Kilarney Road and Lake Pine Drive late Sunday.

The road, which is traveled by 30,000 vehicles each day, has been closed since April 1 after a fire caused a 12-by-8-foot culvert to partially collapse under the westbound lanes on March 21.

Crews still need to repave the westbound lanes of Cary Parkway and restore curbs and the median. The DOT says those lanes will remain closed until next week.

The emergency repairs, which cost $482,120, involved crews tearing up the pavement to dig up and remove about 100 feet of damaged pipe.

The eastbound lanes were able to remain open after the fire but were later closed for safety reasons.

Cary police say Tristan Zammit, 17, of Brownfield Drive in Cary, who is charged with intentionally setting fire to grass, brush lands or woodlands, admitted to setting the fire.

According to a search warrant, firefighters found the name "Tristan" written in tar on the concrete face of the culvert. The next day, police received a tip that Zammit had bragged about the fire to a friend.