I-40 rebuild nearing completion

It's been almost four years since work started.

North Carolina Department of Transportation engineer David Conner says there is a light at the end of construction tunnel.

"We're getting pavement down, getting grade made and rebuilding the road out there," Conner said.

Drivers who frequent the work zone should expect traffic shifts into the newly paved outside lanes on I-40 within the next couple of months.

"We're probably looking at getting everybody into the final traffic pattern by late summer or early fall," Conner said.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Brandy Kegeris uses I-40 often for her trip between Raleigh and Chapel Hill. She called the work zone "kind of messy" and said she's looking forward to its completion.

"Typically, on highways, it takes forever. It's fast. It's good that they're moving so fast," she said.

During the first stages of the project, crews first tore up and replaced the inside lanes of I-40. They started reopening those about one year ago, and while the trip through the work zone is a bit bumpy, DOT officials say it will get better.

"We will come back at night through lane closures and put down the final riding surface that people will be on," Conner said.

Nighttime work in the Fortify zone won't affect rush hour commutes.

In the coming days, drivers will notice changes on the Hammond Road ramp to access I-40 East.

Beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, crews will close lanes to begin work to open the loop ramp on the west side of Hammond Road. The ramp has been closed for more than a year.

Crews will also shut down the east side of the Hammond Road ramp that has been open in the interim.

The new traffic pattern will be in effect by 5 a.m. Friday, DOT officials said.

The changes mean drivers going south on Hammond Road will once again be able to access I-40 East by turning right onto the loop right after going under the interstate. Northbound drivers will have to turn left at a traffic light to go onto that same loop.