U.S. 158 repaving project headed for home stretch

| August 29, 2012

Paving work resumes Thursday at the Wright Memorial Bridge (NCDOT/Traffic Land).

Resurfacing U.S. 158 from the Wright Memorial Bridge to the Barco intersection will begin a new phase Thursday as crews start laying the final coat of asphalt.

The $13.4 million dollar project started in April, with RPC Contracting of Kitty Hawk removing the old road surface.

A friction course top layer was added last decade to address problems with the roadway becoming very slick during rainfall and is the next phase of the project.

“The friction course allows the water to go down through the asphalt, down to the underlying layer which we just put down,” said David Ots, assistant resident engineer for the NCDOT Elizabeth City construction office.

“Once it gets down to that layer, it will travel along the slope of the road until it runs off on the shoulders.”

The friction course should take less time to lay than the base pavement did earlier this summer.

“It’s half as thick as the original surface course we put down, so theoretically it should go down twice as fast,” Ots said.

The base paving was completed several weeks ago, and work to drop the shoulders lower than the final road surface to help with drainage is wrapping up.

“When we normally do road work, we will completely build the road and then build the shoulders last,” Ots said.

“We’re building the shoulders now so they will remain below the level of the friction course so the water can run out, run across the shoulder, and eventually into the ditch.’

To reduce traffic delays along U.S. 158 during the summer, work could only take place between Monday and Thursday.

“The restrictions will be in place through the weekend after Labor Day, but we are going to discuss what happens Sept. 14 and on,” Ots said.

Small sections of concrete curb-and-gutter, which runs along the edge of the road from the N.C. 168 intersection in Barco to just north of the Knapp Memorial Bridge in Coinjock, must still be replaced due to settling that has affected drainage.

After the friction course is applied, the only remaining segments of the project will be the painting of lane markings, application of reflectors, and grinding of rumble strips to alert drivers they are drifting into the center turn lane.

The state’s contract with RPC requires work to be finished by Nov. 16, Ots said.

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See what people are saying:

  • norman says:

    Lot’s of wrecks on the road during heavy rain events. Hydroplaning and cars spinning out from pooling in the new lanes. Just last week saw 3 cars spun out and on the shoulder during a downpour. Seems pretty dangerous for now. Glad to hear the friction layer will be going down, but why so long to get that part done? Seems like it should have been a priority.

    • on August 30, 2012 @ 10:39 am

  • Susan says:

    There are several spots in Currituck the first layer still has not been applied- in front of Waterside Villages and Soundside Estates. RPC needs to do their job correctly.

    • on August 30, 2012 @ 11:02 am

  • Big Daddy says:

    @Susan. Those sections are only getting the top friction course. Has nothing to do with doing the job correctly.

    • on August 30, 2012 @ 1:37 pm

  • OBX Traveler says:

    If the road had been built correctly to begin with….with the center turning lane being up higher than the north/south bound travel lanes, water would not pond on the road. Roads are not suppose to be flat, they are suppose to be built with a hump in the middle to allow for the water to run off of the road surface and into the ditch.

    Roads used to be made this way, but seems like these road “engineers” have forgotten how to build good proper roads these days.

    • on September 8, 2012 @ 9:15 pm

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