Hillsborough Street closed at Blue Ridge Road for months-long project

The North Carolina Department of Transportation partially closed the intersection of Hillsborough Street at Blue Ridge Road Wednesday night to begin work to transform that busy intersection, making it safer for drivers and pedestrians.

The NCDOT is opening a new, temporary connector road to provide some access between Hillsborough Street and Blue Ridge Road during the construction.

The change is a major traffic shift for west Raleigh, and it will impact traffic to PNC Arena, the North Carolina State Fairgrounds and surrounding areas for months.

Drivers like Sarah Boyd are not looking forward to the changes they will have to make to their commutes over the next few months.

"It means I'll have to go down Western, which means go down to the highway and deal with even worse traffic," Boyd said. "I'm not thrilled about that."

"If you’ve ever gone to the fair there, and you park on one side of the road and try to cross to the other – or any of the events that go on at the fairgrounds there that people would cross the road there on foot – (you know it is a) busy intersection," said Aaron Moody, NCDOT spokesperson.

Work began around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night and continued overnight so all traffic could be shifted onto the new connector.

The closure was initially planned to begin Saturday, March 4, but was postponed due to weather.

For drivers who use that road for their commute, the road closure will be an issue.

"It's going to be a mess," said Rachel Velasquez, who lives nearby and travels on Hillsborough Street.

When the project is complete, Blue Ridge Road will pass underneath Hillsborough Street, the railroad tracks and Beryl Road.

During construction, those driving on Hillsborough Street can use either Edwards Mill Road, Wade Avenue and Blue Ridge Road or Western Boulevard and Interstate 440 to get around the closure.

Drivers coming from the south end of Blue Ridge Road will continue to use Beryl Road to access Hillsborough Street.

"I think if people just bear with us and be patient, they'll see an improved roadway that gets them to where they want to go in a safer fashion, and that's our goal," Moody said.

The Hillsborough Street closure is expected to last several months.

"We were hoping to have that part back open by the fall of this year," Moody said.

Then work shifts to the south, and will require closing Blue Ridge Road at Beryl Road and the section down to Pylon Drive.

The project is expected to be complete in late 2024.