It's been a rocky road back to completion for the Carbonton bridge crossing the Deep River on N.C. Highway 42 on the Chatham-Lee county line. But according to an announcement today from the N.C. Department of Transportation, a finish is closer now.
The DOT announced today that work will resume "soon" on the bridge project that "has faced several setbacks related to weather and construction," a press release stated.
As reported by the News + Record in July, the bridge has been closed since January 2018 for repairs after the previous iteration, first built in 1961, began to suffer structural integrity. Construction on the replacement was scheduled to be completed last November.
Thursday's announcement confirmed that Smith-Lowe LLC of Mount Airy was selected as the new contractor — Extreme Concrete Cutting of Gaffney, S.C., was booted off the project — with work on the site expected to restart on September 9.
The DOT press release stated that the project was "now anticipated" to be finished by the end of 2019, and the extension will not cost the state any more money.
Current detours will stay as is, the release noted. Passenger vehicles should use Carbonton, Harrington and Steel Bridge roads and truck traffic should use U.S. Highway 15/501, U.S. Highway 421 and N.C. Highway 902 to avoid the site.