Fortify lane shifts planned for I-40 West this weekend

Construction crews plan this weekend to shift traffic onto new travel lanes in a section of the Fortify zone on Interstate 40 West.

Weather permitting, the lane shifts will happen Saturday at about 11 p.m. from the I-40/Interstate 440 split to Rock Quarry Road (Exit 300).

By early Sunday, drivers on westbound I-40 will travel that stretch of the project on newly paved lanes.

Crews have been moving concrete barriers in the area this week to prepare for the move.

An additional westbound shift is possible between South Saunders Street (Exit 298) and Lake Wheeler Road (Exit 297) before the project is put on hold over Labor Day weekend.

North Carolina State Department of Transportation officials say the goal is to have all traffic within the 8.5-mile Fortify zone on new inside lanes in both directions by early fall.