There's a stretch of Interstate 40 that construction crews have been working on for years – part of a $15 million project that stretches from Wade Avenue to the I-440 interchange.
Rough, bumpy or uneven: It doesn’t matter what adjective you give this stretch of I-40. It’s simply not a smooth ride.
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“It makes my van so noisy. I’m bouncing around in there just trying to hold it between the lanes sometimes," says Stuart Adcock, who drives this stretch of highway almost every day. “Man, it’s a nightmare with the construction going on. The people that drive it, they’re crazy.”
The construction has been going on since 2022, when NCDOT contractors started to fix different parts of the interstate.
Crews are in the final phases of this project that was supposed to be done last year.
So why has this project been so delayed?
The biggest hurdle has been the weather. It needs to be warm enough – but not too warm – and dry to get work done.
On Tuesday, equipment sat idly by in the rain. But over the past several months, they couldn’t even work when it wasn’t raining – because the temperatures have to stay above 60 degrees for the type of asphalt they are working with.
Natalia Arbelaez, an engineer on the project, explains, "It’s a special type of asphalt that we use when we’re putting it on top of concrete to rehab the road.”
She says the work to rehab the road can be more cost effective especially when the existing infrastructure is still usable.
“Everyone wants everything new but if there’s already stuff there that’s existing. Why not try to make it last longer?” she says.
Meanwhile, drivers are just hoping the rough ride will be over soon.
The eastbound lanes are already done. It’s the westbound stretch that still has some work left to do. They’re hoping to finish it up by July.