Public comments will help guide project’s design, development

(Division 9 Engineer Pat Ivey will hold a media availability at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 inside McNeil Banquet Hall to discuss the project and answer questions from reporters.)

RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Transportation invites citizens to attend an open house and public hearing on Monday, Jan. 30, for the Salem Creek Connector project in Winston-Salem.

The $89.1 million project will construct a new one-mile, four-lane road from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive south of Winston-Salem State University to the Piedmont Triad Research Park. A new interchange will be constructed at U.S. 52, and the current interchange at Rams Drive (formerly Stadium Drive) will be removed.

These improvements will reduce traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety at WSSU, provide direct access to downtown and enhance motorist safety on U.S. 52. It will also serve as a critical detour route for traffic in 2018 when NCDOT closes 1.1 miles of Business 40 for up to two years to make major upgrades to the bridges and roadway from east of Church Street to west of Fourth Street.

Residents can learn more about the project on Monday at the Anderson Conference Center at WSSU, which is located at 601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Winston-Salem.

The open house will run from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in McNeil Banquet Hall. People are invited to drop in any time during those hours to talk with NCDOT representatives, ask questions and offer input.

At 7 p.m., a formal public hearing will begin in Dillard Auditorium. The presentation will include information about the project’s proposed location and design, as well as right-of- way and relocation procedures.

NCDOT will use the comments shared by people during the open house and public hearing to help guide the design and development of the project. The comment period ends on Feb. 14.

Maps displaying the location and design of the project, as well as a copy of the Environmental Assessment, are available for public review at the NCDOT Division 9 Office, located at 375 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem City Hall South – Suite 307, located at 100 East First St. The maps are also available online.

Anyone desiring additional information may contact Jamille Robbins, NCDOT-Human Environment Unit, via mail at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1598, by phone at (919) 707-6085 or via email at jarobbins@ncdot.gov.

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who want to participate in this hearing. Anyone requiring special services should contact Robbins as early as possible, so arrangements can be made.

***NCDOT***