US 701 bridge work to create temporary closures in Bladen County

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) — NC Department of Transportation said the US 701 bridge over the Cape Fear River will briefly close for about two weeks, so crews can safely transport the girders for the new bridge.

The contractor for the NC Department of Transportation constructing the new bridge will use tractor-trailers to haul the concrete-reinforced girders from one side of the bridge to the other, where a crane will then set them onto the headers and piers. The new bridge will be placed alongside the existing one.

According to the contractor’s schedule, two girders will be hauled in the morning, and two in the afternoon on weekdays, starting Tuesday. Law enforcement will stop traffic in both directions for the two minutes need for each crossing.

This process will last for about two weeks, when most of the remaining girders for the new bridge will have been hauled to the work site.

In May, the contractor scheduled one-hour closures twice a day to unload girders onto the existing bridge and set them into place.

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