Construction crews in North Carolina are scheduled to permanently close lanes on a busy section of Interstate 77 north of Charlotte on July 14, 2025, as part of an effort to begin building a massive new 10-lane bridge over the highway.
The work is part of the $249 million widening of N.C. Highway 150 between N.C. 16 in Catawba County and U.S. 21/N.C. 150 in Mooresville in the Lake Norman area.
It also will include improving the I-77 Exit 36 interchange at N.C. 150 in Mooresville.
According to a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) news release, workers will shut down the right lanes in both directions on the interstate approaching N.C. 150 and traffic will shift to the inside travel lanes. Nightly closures will last from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
A pair of travel lanes will stay open in both directions on the north-south interstate, as will access to and from N.C. 150.
The state transportation agency noted that crews will build additional eastbound lanes on N.C. 150 during the first phase of the overpass work, while the second phase will add westbound lanes, officials said.
"The [third and] final phase will complete the transition to a 160-ft.-wide [overpass] featuring 10 travel lanes, tying in the bridge to the existing roadway and removing the existing bridge," according to the NCDOT statement.
The overall, 15-mi. expansion of N.C. 150 is needed to ease decades-old congestion and handle future crowding, transportation officials explained.
Blythe Development LLC, a Charlotte-based contractor, will oversee the road project. Construction began in early 2025 and is expected to finish in 2030.
In addition, a 5.5-mi. stretch of N.C. 150 from Greenwood Road in Terrell on the west side of the lake to U.S. 21 on the east side in Mooresville is under construction.
NCDOT also proposes building a continuous flow intersection in the city at the intersection of Williamson and Bluefield roads. In a continuous flow intersection, vehicles turning left across opposing lanes of traffic at a signal-controlled crossover before reaching the intersection.
Elsewhere in the Mooresville area of Iredell County, NCDOT contract crews have begun working to realign and signalize two additional intersections, WCCB-TV in Charlotte reported.
NJR Group Inc. in Albemarle is enhancing safety and upgrading the traffic flow by realigning the junctions of N.C. 150, Wiggins Road and N.C. 152 by adding turn lanes along N.C. 150 and signalizing the intersections.
The $4 million effort is designed to improve sight distances and ease traffic congestion during peak driving hours.
In addition, along Wiggins Road between N.C. 150 and N.C. 152, crews are installing water lines and drainage pipes, clearing land and performing grading and paving operations for the first phase of the project.
Advanced warning and detour signs on the busy corridors have been set up to guide drivers around the closure using N.C. 150 and N.C. 152 until the initial phase of construction is finished and Wiggins Road reopens Fall 2025.
After that portion of the work is complete, lane closures are expected along all three roadways from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
The entire project is expected to be finished by Summer 2026.
After Ballooning Costs, Raleigh Abandons Six Forks Road Plan
After a decade of work and already having spent more than $9 million, North Carolina's capital city will no longer expand part of Six Forks Road, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
Voters approved a 2017 transportation bond that, among other projects, included widening 2 mi. of Six Forks Road, which travels through Raleigh's North Hills section. The project had been running over budget, leaving the city without a viable way to pay for it.
Kenneth Ritchie, Raleigh's assistant transportation director, told the News & Observer that there is "no feasible way for us to deliver on the original vision and … the original intent of the Six Forks Road corridor."
Instead, the city council voted unanimously on July 1, 2025, to reallocate the money budgeted for the roadway expansion to fill approximately 500 ft. of missing sidewalk near Carroll Middle School and add intersection and pedestrian crossing safety improvements to the area.
Any remaining funds will go to other projects that have been scaled down due to escalating costs.
"Unfortunately, the math is the math," said Raleigh City Council member Corey Branch. "And we just don't have the dollars."
The Six Forks Road project had been discussed and planned for more than a decade, according to the News & Observer. A study of the street in 2012 led to recommendations in 2016. The next year, the Raleigh City Council sought additional public engagement before voting on a proposal in 2018.
The original cost of expanding a 2-mi.-long stretch of Six Forks Road from Rowan Street to Lynn Road and add separated bicycle and pedestrian paths was estimated to cost $31.3 million. The project also called for improving street lighting, landscaping, stormwater and transit stops. The funding was to come from local 2013 and 2017 transportation bonds.
Design work began in 2020, after which the city learned that real estate easements and construction costs were much higher than expected. The News & Observer reported in 2023 that the project was running $56 million over budget.
City leaders agreed to scale back the project to only a single mile of roadway between Rowan Street and Millbrook Road, near North Hills, and add a combined path for bikes and pedestrians. That cost was estimated at $56.1 million.
Then, earlier this year, municipal officials were told the project was, once again, over budget. It would now cost $93.5 million, or a 67 percent increase, due to "growing construction costs and the real estate market," the Raleigh newspaper previously reported.
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