Blue Ridge Road at Hillsborough Street in Raleigh is now scheduled to reopen in 2026. An exact date has yet to be set, a spokeswoman with the North Carolina Department of Transportation told WRAL News.
The project -- rerouting Blue Ridge under Hillsborough Street, the railroad tracks and Beryl Road -- was originally supposed to be complete in time for the 2025 North Carolina State Fair.
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The major reason for the delay is issues with the soil.
When NCDOT closed Blue Ridge Road in October of 2022 and construction began, workers immediately determined that the soil wasn’t at a strength that the railroad felt comfortable with, NCDOT spokeswoman Kim Deaner said.
NCDOT first had to repair the soil before road work could even start.
Once the project got started and progressed, the strength of the soil continued to become an issue that had to continually be fixed. This meant additional work and most important, additional time.
Weather has also been an issue during this project. The area has seen a lot of heavy rain events, tropical storm systems and snow. Afternoon thunderstorms even cause delays.
All that time adds up, Deaner said.
North Carolina State Fair traffic woes loom as Blue Ridge Road Project faces delays
While Blue Ridge Road at Hillsborough Street will not be open in time for this year’s NC State Fair and NC State football games, the Beryl Road bridge will add another access point to the area.
The NC DOT also says smaller projects in the area will be completed. Lanes will begin to open, traffic lights will be put in place, and all of this will make things easier to get around as the project moves towards completion.