Winston-Salem's beltway construction may begin sooner than anticipated

  • 2015-06-30
Purchasing the right-of-way to build the Northern Beltway in Winston-Salem will start two years earlier than previously thought.

According to a June 8, 2015 news item, a program to improve North Carolina's roads, the “2016-2017 State Transportation Improvement Program,” has dedicated funding to purchases needed rights-of-way along the route from US 311 to US 158, located near Walkertown. The money will be available during the next fiscal year. Previously, these funds were not expected to be available until 2018.

According to North Carolina Department of Transportation's Pat Ivey, this means construction of the Beltway could start in 2018. The construction plus the purchase of the rights-of-way give the project a projected cost of $68m. Work has already begun on the first phase, and North Carolina's governor, Pat McCrory, has lobbied around the state on behalf of a $2.85bn package in order to fund the project's completion.

Governor McCrory visited the Triangle on behalf of the roads package, noting that the construction would provide approximately $789m to projects underway in the Triad. This would include almost $450m for the beltway, which is slated to become I-74.

McCrory said that if the bond issues weren't passed, I-74 would not be built within the next 10 years. He believes that finishing the project is crucial to the Triad.

Winston-Salem officials might want to work with a flyer printing company when construction begins, to create a flyer that notes rode closures, and suggests alternate routes.