UPDATE (2-6-23) - North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) says that I-26 West will be closed overnight Monday (Feb. 6) and Tuesday (Feb. 7). The section between Airport Road (Exit 40) and Brevard Road (Exit 33) from 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Travelers can take the following detour: Airport Road to Hendersonville Road to I-40. NCDOT says traffic lights will remain green longer along the detour.
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UPDATE (1-31-2023) - A North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) spokesperson says the closure of a nine-mile stretch of Interstate 26 is postponed to Monday, Feb. 6, due to weather.
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Another overnight closure is set to take place on Interstate 26 in Western North Carolina.
The NCDOT says a contractor plans to close I-26 West from Airport Road to Interstate 40 on Monday, Feb. 6 — weather permitting — "to shift traffic from its current pattern on the old bridge to a new pattern across a new section of bridge." Interstate striping will also be updated along the entire nine mile stretch.
The construction is scheduled to start no earlier than 8 p.m. on Tuesday and should be done around 6 a.m. Wednesday. Wet weather conditions may postpone the operation until the next available night.
A marked detour will direct traffic to Airport Road (N.C. 280), then Hendersonville Road to Interstate 40. Traffic lights on the detour route will remain green longer to accommodate additional overnight traffic coming from the interstate.
"Crews from Fluor-United will soon begin removing sections of the old bridge in the same way crews removed sections of an old bridge at this location in 2022," a press release from NCDOT says. "Then crews will begin constructing the final section before finishing this section of the I-26 widening project resulting in one eight-lane bridge over the river."
"Transportation officials remind drivers to remain alert, avoid distractions and obey all posted signs inside the work zone," NCDOT says.