A section of US 401 between Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina will close briefly this month
This article has been updated since it was originally published July 11 to reflect a change in the schedule.
A section of the main highway between Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina will be closed one weekend this summer for work related to the Triangle Expressway.
U.S. 401 was scheduled to be close late on July 12, near the southern campus of Wake Tech Community College, and reopen early Sunday, July 14.
On Thursday, the N.C. Department of Transportation updated its plans, saying heavy rain this weekend forced contractors to delay the work at least two weeks.
During the closure, drivers will be directed on detours that use Ten Ten, Lake Wheeler and Donny Brook roads. NCDOT is urging people to avoid the area, if they can; U.S. 401 is a four-lane divided highway, but the detour routes are two-lane roads.
Drivers will have access to businesses along U.S. 401 south of Ten Ten Road during the closure.
The detours are necessary so contractors can finish paving and marking lanes at the new U.S. 401 interchange with the Triangle Expressway, which is also N.C. 540.
After the paving is complete and U.S. 401 reopens, NCDOT expects to close Donny Brook Road where it meets U.S. 401 for a day.
NCDOT and its contractors are in the final stages of building an 18-mile extension of the Triangle Expressway across southern Wake County, from Apex to Interstate 40 near the Johnston County line.
State Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said this week the state hopes to have the road open by the end of August.
This story was originally published July 11, 2024 at 2:37 PM with the headline "A section of US 401 between Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina will close briefly this month."
