WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Salem Parkway (formerly Business 40) in Winston-Salem officially reopened on Sunday.
The NCDOT reopened the Marshall and Cherry Streets bridges over Business 40 work zone, the High Street bridge from Brookstown Avenue to Marshall Street and the Brookstown underpass beneath the freeway.
The $99.2 million Business 40 improvement project included the construction of Business 40 and 11 new bridges.
It also included replacing the existing roadway pavement, modernizing entrance and exit ramps, replacing nine vehicular bridges and two pedestrian bridges, lengthening the acceleration and deceleration lanes between ramps and more.
WFMY News 2 spoke with Greta Lint from the NCDOT about the opening of Salem Parkway.
Here are four things you might not know about the project.
Question: Is Salem Parkway just the 1.2 mile stretch redone through Winston-Salem or all of Business 40?
Answer: Salem Parkway is all of Business 40 “from split to split” (Colfax area to Clemmons area).
Question: Why are there only two lanes in each direction?
Answer: It would have been too costly to widen the road to three lanes. That is due in part to the Old Salem Historical site nearby—not to mention homes and businesses along the highway, which would have been disturbed by widening the road.
Question: What upgrades were made to the highway?
Answer:
- The road was lowered to make it safer for buses and tractor-trailers to pass under overpasses. Those vehicles have gotten a lot taller since the road was built.
- Drainage along the road was improved. There used to be a lot of ponding and pooling of water on the road after heavy rains. Drainage improvements include differently designed water drains and widening highway shoulders to help pull water away from the middle of the road.
- Exit and entry ramps have been extended, meaning drivers can move into those lanes sooner and exit more safely.
- More turn lanes were added at Peter’s Creek Parkway to allow more drivers to get onto the highway
Question: How much money was saved by opening the project?
Answer: Those numbers won’t be known for months after the entire project is finished. That is expected to wrap up sometime this summer, but it could take up to a year to get those final numbers.
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