Heads up, drivers in Dare County: road work is slated to begin next week on U.S. 64, between a couple of key bridges. The nitty-gritty is that the North Carolina Department of Transportation has given the green light to the Raleigh-based Fred Smith Company to start milling and resurfacing on Wednesday, a project expected to be wrapped up by April 14, weather permitting.
Specifically, it's the stretch between the Melvin R. Daniels Bridge, also known as Little Bridge, and the Washington Baum Bridge that's getting the treatment, and while they're at it, the contractors are also going to spruce up the Daniels bridge parking lot—so don't be caught off guard by changes in the flow of traffic or if your usual parking spot is suddenly a no-go. The waterline bore work tucked up next to the Washington Baum Bridge kind of kicked off this whole road affair and clears out again once this phase is done, letting another crew from Dare County step in and finish their job.
Not content with just a quick touch-up, the Fred Smith crews will then bounce to do work for Kill Devil Hills before boomeranging back to attend to the remaining U.S. 64 five-lane section leading up to the Virginia Dare Bridge – that's all on the books to be done and dusted before May 9, just in time for whatever early summer adventures you've got planned.
It's all part of this larger aim to pretty up various bits of U.S. 64 and the surrounding Dare County infrastructure, a job that comes with a $2.4 million price tag as of last September, courtesy of state transportation coffers.
