Blowing Rock Road bridge repair begins April 30

The center three lanes of the U.S. 321 bridge at Boone Heights Drive in Boone will be closed for repair for about two months beginning Monday, April 30.

One lane in each direction will remain open throughout the construction.

If the contractor, R.E. Burns of Statesville, needs to close the entire bridge, those closures will likely take place at night, said Ivan Dishman, N.C. Department of Transportation district engineer for Boone.

NCDOT is expected to furnish maps depicting alternate routes for motorists later this week.

The center section under repair represents the original bridge, built in 1947. The bridge was widened to five lanes in the 1970s. The contractor will replace the deck and the superstructure of this section — everything but the very bottom supports, Dishman said.

“It’s just at the end of its useful life and in need of repair,” he said.

In February 2011, NCDOT temporarily closed lanes of the bridge to repair a 2-by-2-foot hole.
The contract amount for the project is $654,381.40.