A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation has initialize a traffic shift this morning near where Interstate 40 crosses the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.
Traffic has been utilizing one lane in each direction since Feb. 28 when the interstate reopened following a rockslide.
Traffic heading toward Tennessee will be slowed on Tuesday, perhaps stopped at times, to safely allow crews to remove the temporary concrete median. Once this operation is complete in the afternoon, westbound traffic will be placed in the regular outside lane of I-40.
The procedure involves what they call a rolling roadblock through the Pigeon River Gorge.
Motorists heading toward Tennessee should plan for significant delays on Tuesday. An alternate route from Asheville to the I-40/I-81 junction takes drivers up Interstate 26 West to Interstate 81 south. This detour adds about 45 minutes to a trip.
This traffic shift will allow crews to begin preparing the final surface and pour new concrete to build a permanent center median between eastbound and westbound traffic.