New travel lane opens on I-440 West in Fortify zone

Crews opened up the new third travel lane between Interstate 40 and the U.S. Highway 64/264 exit, and officials said Friday that they expect the third lane to improve traffic flow for drivers coming off Interstate 40 as they head toward north Raleigh. 

Additional work will have to be completed on I-440 West in the coming weeks. Crews will work on some additional paving and lane striping in specific areas, and they will also be setting light poles and installing highway signs that include the new Interstate 495 designation for exit 14. 

Work continues on I-440 East, as crews are paving, installing signs and doing shoulder and drainage work. In mid-February, there is expected to be a weekend closure of one of the Poole Road ramps so it can be tied in with the rebuilt interstate. Construction crews could open up three new travel lanes on I-440 East by early March, weather permitting. 

As temperatures warm during the spring, crews will add a final top layer of asphalt on the I-440 section and put down permanent lane striping. 

Drivers will continue to notice more work on the I-40 section of the project. Crews have been preparing shoulders on both sides of the highway so they can become travel lanes in the spring. 

In the coming months, drivers on I-40 will start to see more barrier walls go up, limiting access to shoulders and the median. Once the I-40 zone is put into a three-lane pattern, which is expected to happen in late spring, the traffic patterns will remain in place until the entire project is completed in late 2016.