Drivers eagerly awaiting the opening of the Blue Ridge Road underpass near the Hillsborough Street intersection in Raleigh will have to wait at least another year.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation confirmed a new target completion date of fall 2025.
Since 2019, construction around the project has slowed the flow of traffic for people heading to sporting events at PNC Arena and Carter-Finley Stadium as well as for North Carolina State Fair attendees.
Blue Ridge Road was closed just south of Hillsborough Street in October of 2022.
Initially, the project was scheduled to be done by the end of 2024. Currently, NCDOT leaders hope the new road is complete in time for the 2025 state fair. A WRAL News report from January found the timeline was delayed by at least six months due to complications.
When the project is finished, Blue Ridge Road will pass beneath Hillsborough Street, the railroad tracks and Beryl Road. A new street will connect Hillsborough Street and Blue Ridge Road.
NCDOT communications officer Kim Deaner said COVID threw a wrench into the process. From there, supply chain issues and labor shortages followed.
Other obstacles include all the utility lines workers had to move and poor soil quality affecting the adjacent railroad. The soil has to be healthy enough to withstand the weight of trains running on a regular basis.
Deaner said the soil issue was unforeseen by staff. Crews had to construct a temporary railroad.
The goal of the project was to make the area safer for drivers and pedestrians. NCDOT engineers felt the old intersection was a complicated signal system with a railroad crossing and Beryl Road nearby.
“You have all that foot traffic coming together with a railroad crossing at a busy intersection right at our state fairgrounds,” NCDOT spokesperson Aaron Moody said. “It's really an effort to take that risk factor out of play. It gives pedestrians and cars the leeway to go under the railroad.”
The estimated cost of the project is $475 million.
Burke Brothers Hardware owner Jeff Hastings said the construction is a major issue when there are large events in the area.
"When the president came, it literally shut us down," Hastings said. "Because they had the road closed right here."
Hastings said the company doing the work, Lane construction, is a customer of the store. Nonetheless, he's frustrated over possibly losing customers.
"Hearing that there's a delay, after delay, sometimes, those customers, I end up wondering if I'm going to start losing those customers because they get frustrated trying to come over here," Hastings said.
Harry's Guitar Shop is also impacted as the Pylon Drive business is surrounded by road closures. Co-owner Scott Miller said he's trying to remain positive, despite the delay.
"We understand," Miller said. "I support the DOT. This is going to be a good thing when it's done. We're going to be in a great location when it's done. We just have to be patient."
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July 09, 2024 at 01:31AM
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Blue Ridge Road underpass won't be complete until fall 2025 - WRAL News
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