CARY, N.C. — The state Department of Transportation shut down part of U.S. 1 in Cary overnight to install a pedestrian bridge.

DOT officials said between midnight and 5 a.m. on Wednesday, contractors shut the northbound lanes of the highway down for 30-minute intervals as they moved a support beam for the bridge across the road with a giant crane.

Traffic Cam

The slowdowns were expected well before midnight. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, workers shut down all but one northbound lane of U.S. 1, in anticipation of the work ahead.

The $1.4 million bridge will connect two Cary parks, with the cost split by the town of Cary and the DOT. But drivers are shouldering the inconvenience of the construction.

At a later date, crews will shut down the southbound lanes of U.S. 1 to install the second half of the pedestrian bridge.

"We have to clear on the southbound side and we will have to build the substructure over there, so we are several months away from being able to set the second span," said DOT engineer Cadmus Capehart.