Durham, N.C. As work continues on the East End Connector in Durham, a project decades in the making that will ultimately link Interstates 40 and 85, some in areas around the construction are worried it will make traffic worse. <\/p>\n
When the connector opens to traffic in the summer of 2019, it will tie the Durham Freeway to I-85 with big, freeway-style interchanges. It's designed to get traffic off secondary roads. <\/p>\n
North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Abbott says a mild winter is helping crews make progress. <\/p>\n
\"It's a very big deal for Durham because, once it is finished, that's going to get a direct connection to basically the East Coast,\" Abbott said. <\/p>\n
\"A lot of the work right now is bridge work. This project is going to involve construction of about 16 bridges. We're even building a detour bridge for a railroad.\" <\/p>\n
Engineers say that, once it happens, it should help relieve congestion on local roads. <\/p>\n
Cheyne Burwell says he's worried that might not be the case. <\/p>\n
\"People coming in from Granville County, from Wake Forest, are going to continue to use these secondary roads that are not built for this bandwidth of traffic,\" he said. <\/p>\n
\"Sherron Road is really difficult. There are times I can barely get out of my home to get to work, and there have been days where I've had to turn around and just work from home.\" <\/p>\n
Burwell says he's hopeful that the DOT will expand other roads on his side of town. <\/p>\n
DOT officials said they believe the East End Connector will go a long way to solving many of the area's traffic troubles. <\/p>\n
As work continues over the spring and summer, crews will keep travel lanes open in the evening when the Durham Bulls play home games. <\/p>\n
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Mild winter helping crews make significant progress on East End Connector - WRAL.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Durham, N.C. Continue reading