Transportation

Business 40 Shutdown May Be Shortened Under Latest Plan

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By Neal Charnoff

Published August 15, 2018 at 11:34 AM EDT

Lane closures have caused traffic delays on Business 40 in Winston-Salem, as commuters prepare for a full shutdown in the fall. WFDD/David Ford

The planned two-year shutdown of Business 40 in Winston-Salem could be shortened to 14 or 15 months.

Financial incentives have been offered to contractors to expedite work on the highway project. A full shutdown of Business 40 is scheduled to begin in November.

Larry Shaver, an engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, says that the incentives could speed up the process enough to have the highway reopened in early 2020.

Shaver tells the Winston-Salem Journal that contractors will now have the flexibility to bring in sub-contractors who are available to get the work done sooner, rather than relying on those who offer the lowest bids.

And one major component of the project, the replacement of the Broad Street Bridge, will start sooner than expected.

Transportation officials outlined their latest plans during a Public Works meeting at City Hall. Officials stressed that the construction period will still be difficult for travelers and that people should plan on building 20 to 30 minutes into their daily commute.

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Neal Charnoff

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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Business 40 Shutdown May Be Shortened Under Latest Plan

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