Heads up, Bay Area commuters: Your nocturnal journeys are set to hit a snag starting yesterday. The N.C. Department of Transportation announced a series of overnight closures on Interstate 40 in Wake County for bridge work. According to their schedule, lanes will start shutting down on I-40 East near U.S. 70 (Exit 309) at 9 p.m. every night from yesterday to Thursday, with the highway fully closing at around 10 p.m. and reopening at 5 a.m. the following morning.
During these shutdown periods, motorists planning to traverse the eastbound lanes will need to take a bit of a detour. Navigating this stretch of roadwork, I-40 East traffic will be guided onto U.S. 70 East at Exit 309, then onto N.C. 42 West at Exit 320, and finally back to their intended path on I-40 East. The detour, which could likely confuse night-time drivers, was designed to facilitate bridge work without causing daytime delays.
For those interested in the specifics of this temporary reroute, it goes like this: If you're aiming for the Triangle Expressway/ Toll N.C. 540 (Exit 310 off of I-40 East), you'll follow the same detour. However, at the N.C. 42 interchange (Exit 320), you'll have to execute a loop-de-loop, before taking U.S. 70 West to access the Triangle Expressway. It might be wise to set that GPS with updated directions to avoid any night-time confusion.
Note that all this work hinges on the whims of the weather. The N.C. Department of Transportation duly notes that these closures are "weather dependent and subject to change." Always savvy to leave room for the unexpected, these plans will adapt should Mother Nature decide otherwise.
