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DOT Reopens Westbound I-40 Lane

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DURHAM, N.C. — The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has reopened the left lane on I-40 West from exit 269 to exit 274 in Durham County.

Officials closed the left lane at 11 a.m. Friday to repair part of the drainage structures in the area. Officials said the problems stemmed from traffic being forced onto the shoulders of the interstate due to a prior construction project. They said the drainage grates could not handle all the extra wear and tear and, as a result, metal supports have sheared off.

"With the traffic volumes that we've had since we shifted the traffic to the inside on the westbound direction, we've noticed that we've begun to have some failures on our equipment," DOT engineer Wiley Jones said. "We're going in there to try to stiffen it up [and] make sure it's going to be fine and dandy from here on out."

The lane closure caused a major traffic hassle for most of the afternoon. Crews are now hustling to weld the grates back into place.

"This has just come out of the blue. We didn't really anticipate this coming, but we're going to take care of it the best we know how, so that it doesn't cause us any problems in the future," Jones said.

The lane will be closed again at 8 p.m. Friday to continue repairs. Motorists are asked to use N.C. 147 to I-85 as a detour.

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