At this ‘busy all the time’ Clayton intersection, NCDOT plans improvements soon
A congested intersection in Clayton is getting some attention from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
NCDOT has hired a contractor to add turn lanes and make other improvements where Shotwell Road meets U.S. 70 Business on the west side of town. The $3.7 million project is expected to get underway this fall and should be done by the end of 2025.
The work includes new traffic signals, new curbs and traffic islands and better drainage.
But what drivers will notice most will be three new turn lanes designed to help relieve backups. They are:
▪ A second left-turn lane on Shotwell Road onto westbound U.S. 70 Business.
▪ A dedicated right-turn lane on Shotwell Road onto westbound U.S. 70 Business.
▪ A second left-turn lane on eastbound U.S. 70 Business onto northbound Shotwell Road. To accommodate the two lanes of turning traffic, northbound Shotwell will be widened to two lanes from U.S. 70 Business to Cameron Way, where it will narrow to one lane.
NCDOT also plans to extend a section of sidewalk along one side of Shotwell north of the intersection, but otherwise no new sidewalks or crosswalks are planned, said spokesman Andrew Barksdale.
About 38,500 cars used this section of U.S. 70 Business each day in 2022, the most recent year for which data was available, while the section of Shotwell north of the intersection handled about 14,000 a day.
“It gets backed up during the morning and afternoon rush hours,” Barksdale wrote in an email. “But it’s busy all the time.”
To keep traffic moving during construction, NCDOT will not allow the contractor, S.T. Wooten Corp., to close any lanes between 6 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
The intersection is one of the busiest in Clayton and has needed improving for some time, said Jody McLeod, the mayor.
“I am glad to see NCDOT has recognized the necessity of these upgrades that our residents have been advocating for,” McLeod said in a written statement.
The town worked with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the regional transportation planning group, to secure a federal grant that will cover 80% of the cost. The state will pay the rest.
This story was originally published July 29, 2024 at 4:06 PM.
