BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Rainy weather Tuesday only added to the already snarled traffic on Interstate 40 in western North Carolina.
The interstate did not make the list of construction projects pausing for Thanksgiving travel. That means both directions will keep moving -- slowly -- in just one lane.
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The North Carolina Department of Transportation is replacing two bridges along I-40 near mile marker 20, which is in Haywood County. The construction project has the interstate down to one lane in each direction between Highway 276 and mile marker 18, which is 20 miles east of the Tennessee border and 25 miles west of Asheville.
The NCDOT has put up alternate routes on their information signs 90 miles away from the big project.
Road crews say by closing the lanes, they can complete the project more quickly, possibly by May of next year. They suggest taking I-26 north through Asheville into Tennessee and then connect back over to I-40 by traveling south on I-81.
>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with drivers who say it’s creating headaches.
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