The magic day is now June 13, the date on which work is scheduled to begin to replace the bridge on Rogers Road over Smith Creek. Of course, many will say the magic day will be in late October – maybe early November – when the new bridge is opened along with a widened Rogers Road from the bridge to the Forestville Road/Heritage Lake Road intersection.
The contractor hired by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Blythe Construction, will replace the old existing two-lane bridge with a five-lane bridge with sidewalks and a greenway underpass and also will widen the portion of Rogers Road from Hope Lutheran Church to the Forestville Road/Heritage Lake Road intersection from three lane to five lanes, also with sidewalks. Chad Hinnant, resident engineer for Division 5 of DOT, emailed this week to say: “The widening portion was not part of the original contract work but was requested by the Town of Wake Forest to be added to this contract. The cost of the widening work is $1,221,848.79 and this cost is to be paid by the Town of Wake Forest.”
There are a few caveats about the schedule because the best-laid plans, etc. and etc. Candace Davis, the town’s transportation planning manager, wrote Monday: “It is our understanding Blythe Construction will begin the road widening work during the 135 day timeframe. If the road widening phase of the project is not complete in October, the contractor will continue working under traffic (with lane closures). As you know, this could change. We will provide updates as we receive them from NCDOT.”
DOT considers the bridge as structurally deficient and functionally obsolete, requiring constant repairs and built to out-dated design standards. It shakes when school buses and other heavy vehicles pass over it. This bridge replacement is part of DOT’s four-year, $810-million plan to improve the condition of the state’s bridges.
Three other bridges in the Wake Forest area have already been replaced under this program, those on Purnell Road over Horse Creek, Forestville Road over Sanford Creek and West Oak Avenue over Richland Creek. The last was on West Oak and was completed earlier this month.
The Rogers Road bridge replacement has caused a great deal of anxiety and comment because of the three public schools either on it or nearby – Heritage Elementary, Middle and High schools – and all the homes, apartments, stores, businesses and offices either directly on the road or served by it. Wake Forest town officials and representatives from the county school system and DOT have been working to alleviate as many problems as they can but they are urging drivers to avoid the area if possible, keep their sense of humor, and plan for extra time in their trip. The town has several trips for commuters on its website. Go to www.wakeforestnc.gov and put “commuters” in the search bar.
Sign boards will go up about two weeks before work begins. The signed detour uses Heritage Lake Road, the N.C. 98 Bypass (Dr. Calvin Jones Highway) and South Main Street. Local people are encouraged to continue to patronize their usual local businesses on Rogers even if it means a slightly longer trip.
For more information about the Rogers Road Bridge Replacement Project, including a downloadable detour map, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Rogers Road Bridge” or contact Davis at 919-435-9513 or cdavis@wakeforestnc.gov or NCDOT Division 5 Resident Engineer Chad Hinnant at 919-733-9499 or cdhinnant@ncdot.gov.
