More people will be on the road during the upcoming Fourth of July weekend than traveled last year, and state transportation officials say they shouldn’t be too inconvenienced by road construction.
The N.C. Department of Transportation typically halts construction projects during busy holidays, and this year is no exception. Beginning at 4 p.m. July 2 until 9 a.m. July 6, most construction crews will take a break, and lane closures will be kept to a minimum, reports Steve Abbott, a spokesman with the DOT in Raleigh.
However, some exceptions apply. North Third Street in Wilmington will remain closed during the holiday and for the next year. The bridge on that street is being replaced. Bridge replacements on N.C. 211 in Brunswick County will also require continuous lane closures.
Although construction on Interstate 40 between Cary and south Raleigh will cease, travel will be restricted to three lanes moving in each direction because crews have torn out the lanes to replace and fortify them, Abbott said. Suggested detours include I-40 to I-95 and then to I-440 or I-540. The route is longer, but is probably quicker in heavy traffic, Abbott said.
But where possible, construction should not affect traffic.
“Lanes that can be open should be open,” he said.
AAA Carolinas estimates 1.183 million people will travel more than 50 miles for the Fourth of July weekend, which the automobile club defines as the period from July 1 to July 5. Eighty-five percent of those travelers will go by car. The numbers represent a slight increase over last year, said Tiffany Wright, public relations manager for AAA Carolinas.
Those who do drive will be paying about 90 cents less per gallon for gas than last year. The average price per gallon in North Carolina is $2.65, although Wilmington’s average is higher at $2.69. In 2014 the state’s average was $3.56, while people who filled up in Wilmington paid an average of $3.59 a gallon.
The price is a bit higher than earlier this year, but “we are still paying the lowest gas prices in at least five years,” Wright said.
Locally, the Independence Day weekend is the biggest holiday weekend for tourism, said Connie Nelson, communications and public relations director for the Wilmington & Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau. Many hotels and vacation rentals are already booked, and those with vacancies will probably be at or near capacity by the time the weekend gets here, Nelson said.
email [email protected]
