I-85 Construction Moves Toward Durham

DURHAM — N.C. Department of Transportationcrews have been working on Interstate 85 near Highway 70, and they are now moving down the road through Durham.

Next week, crews will start working on I-85 from Highway 70 to Broad Street. New lanes, new interchanges and flyover ramps are in the plans.

"The biggest impact is there will be periodic closures of some of the ramps, so there'll be detour routes. We feel that's going to have a larger impact on the motoring public in and around Durham," says DOT engineer Tracy Parrott.

One of the next phases in the I-85 improvement plan is renovating the 52-year-old Broad Street bridge. It is on the list of North Carolina's worst bridges.

Many are feeling the construction pain. A truck repair shop lost its water line to a backhoe. As the next phase kicks in, the DOT is asking for patience and careful driving.

"I would love to say we could build this project with no impact to the traveling public, but the reality of it is we can't," Parrott says.

The construction barriers are not going away anytime soon. The I-85 improvement project will not be finished until 2007.