Peace Haven, Highway 65 Interchanges To Get New Bridges

Two major Forsyth County intersections are scheduled to get makeovers.

The Peace Haven Road Intersection with U.S. 421 and N.C. Highway 65 at U.S. 52 will both be expanded under a highway plan approved by state officials last month.

Pat Ivey, a division engineer for the state Department of Transportation, says the interchange improvements are designed to fit into the long-planned Northern Beltway. The beltway plan did not get any additional money under the state's new ranking program. Ivey says traffic problems at the Peace Haven and Highway 65 intersections couldn't wait for the beltway.

At the Peace Haven and U.S. 421 interchange, the bridge will be replaced and widened from two lanes to as many as six lanes and will be elevated. The ramps will also be improved. Planners had once considered roundabouts at both ends of the bridge. But Ivey says the traffic on the road was too heavy to make that plan feasible.

At Highway 65 and U.S. 52, the bridge will also be replaced with a wider bridge and there will be new ramps. Ivey says the plans are expected to get final approval in December and construction could begin sometime in the 2016-17 fiscal year.