Fortify lane shifts on I-40 expected to be in place by July; big delays anticipated

Crews began making lane shifts on Interstate 40 West between Lake Wheeler Road and U.S. Highway 1 in Cary last week, and they will continue to put up orange barrels and concrete barriers over the next four to six weeks.

"Things are going well. The shift involved traffic control, replacing the existing pavement markings with a new alignment and resetting temporary barrier walls," Amir Nezarati, senior assistant resident engineer with the DOT, said.

The shifts that started last week on I-40 West could be complete as early as Friday night, weather permitting. Crews will begin replacing orange construction barrels with more permanent concrete barriers next week.

Similar shifts on I-40 East between Jones Franklin Road and Lake Wheeler Road will begin next week, officials said.

In July, crews will complete similar work in both directions of I-40 between Lake Wheeler Road and the I-40/I-440 split (Exit 301).

Once lane shifts are completed, an 8.5-mile stretch of the highway from Cary to southeast Raleigh will be reduced to three lanes until late 2016.

DOT officials estimate that travel times during peak hours could increase an average of 30 minutes or more in each directions.

While work on I-40 is just getting ramped up, the I-440 section of the rebuild is almost finished.

Crews continue to put down a final layer of asphalt on both I-440 East and West, and both sides of the highway have been reopened to their original three-lane capacity.