Drivers on Old Lake Road will permanently lose access to U.S. 74/76 this week as part of the project to upgrade the highway to interstate standards.
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation recently completed the construction of an overpass that will allow traffic on Old Lake Road to cross over the four-lane highway. The overpass does not have access to the highway.
Starting Dec. 19, the contractor will permanently close access between Old Lake Road and U.S. 74/76. This location was converted into a reduced conflict intersection a few years ago to improve safety, especially during the construction of this overpass as well as the interchange at Chauncey Town Road less than 1.5 miles away. This interchange, which includes a bridge and on and off ramps, opened to traffic in October.
The Chauncey Town Road interchange and the Old Lake Road overpass were part of a $44 million construction contract NCDOT awarded in 2022 in to improve safety and mobility on U.S. 74/76. The project also included the extension of Georgia Road to improve traffic flow between East Columbus Jr.-Sr. High School, which is situated not far from the new Old Lake Road overpass.
Starting this week, drivers should utilize these new patterns in this vicinity:
- Take the new Old Lake Road overpass to shuttle back and forth between the school campus and the town of Lake Waccamaw.
- Otherwise, use the new Chauncey Town Road interchange to go either north or south of U.S. 74/76 near Old Lake Road.
Drivers should be cautious when navigating this new traffic pattern.
Due to seasonal limitations for placing the final layer of asphalt and permanent pavement markings, the contractor will have to wait until next spring to do this work and complete the project by next summer.
