Open house postponed by storm rescheduled for Oct. 25
LAKE WACCAMAW – The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to improve U.S. 74/76 in Columbus County with the construction of an interchange and a separate overpass near the town of Lake Waccamaw.
The current proposal calls for replacing the highway’s intersection with Chauncey Town Road into an interchange and building a bridge to allow traffic on Old Lake Road to cross over U.S. 74/76. The planned bridge is a mile from the Chauncey Town Road intersection. The preliminary design maps are available on the NCDOT website.
Area residents may learn more about the proposed project, see preliminary design maps and offer comments at an informal open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Boys and Girls Home, Fellowship Hall at 400 Flemington Drive in Lake Waccamaw. The open house originally was planned for Sept. 25, but NCDOT postponed it because of Hurricane Florence.
The project is a continuation of the department’s long-term plan to reconstruct the four-lane highway through several counties into interstate standards with overpasses, ramps and loops. Replacing the highway’s at-grade intersections, which have either stop signs or traffic lights, with interchanges improves safety and mobility.
The corridor will become future Interstate 74, which will allow people and goods to move more efficiently across southeastern North Carolina.
Transportation planners will consider comments submitted through Nov. 26 toward the final design plans. The $13 million project is scheduled to begin construction in 2022.
For additional information or to submit comments, contact John Gauthier, the Division Design Engineer for Highway Division 6, at P.O. PO Box 1150, Fayetteville, N.C. 28302; 910-364-0603; orjbgauthier@ncdot.gov.
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Caitlyn Ridge at ceridge1@ncdot.gov or 919-707-6091 as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.
People who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request before the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.
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