CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. — Congress has officially designated U.S. 70 from Raleigh to Morehead City as a high priority corridor in North Carolina. It will eventually become Interstate 42.
What You Need To Know
U.S. 70 from Raleigh to Morehead City is undergoing construction to become an interstate
Businesses along the highway have mixed opinions on how the changes will affect business
Forty-one businesses were forced to relocate due to construction
The goal is to connect the capital, coast and military bases with a more convenient roadway
Construction is just getting started in James City near New Bern. The resident engineer for the James City Project says it is going to streamline access from the capital to the coast. James City isn't the only area under construction. Goldsboro, Kinston and Havelock are seeing changes as well.
Business owners along U.S. 70 have mixed opinions about how the construction is going to impact their businesses.
“The heart of this whole community are the small independent businesses that were started by people that sacrificed other parts of their lives,” said Will Gorges, a small business owner.
For Gorges that dedication has led him to his Civil War antique business that he started back in 1981. Now, it's a business he's worried about losing.
“Traffic count will be the same regardless,” Gorges said. “But instead of going 55 (mph), they'll be going 70. And you can see less at 70 than you can at 55.”
The U.S. 70 project is going to turn the main road in James City into a fast-moving interstate with on and off ramps. In order to complete the project, construction crews have to widen the road to make room for extra lanes, ramps and service roads.
“This is where they are slicing the corridor. There will be a 10-foot-tall chainlink fence running all the way across. So all this is now gone,” Gorges said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is taking part of Gorges' parking lot to make room for the new interstate, and a new access road will cut straight through the back of his property. Gorges said he's not being compensated nearly enough.
He says he bought the property because of easy access and high visibility, but now he's worried that both those things will be gone.
“I think many of these businesses like mine will probably simply fail,” Gorges said.
However, not all businesses are so skeptical of the new interstate. Shawn Hoveland knew about the U.S. 70 project before he bought the property and opened Beartown Bistro and Pizza Company.
“I think in the long run it's gonna have a much better traffic flow for all of James City and New Bern,” Hoveland said. “[But] every single one of us is concerned about how it's going to affect our business. And we have no idea really what to anticipate. So there's a lot of hope involved.”
Although he's a little worried that construction could slow down his business, he's keeping an optimistic outlook.
“We're definitely going to be a destination spot here,” Hoveland said. “So we just have to make it through this traffic.”
Wendi Johnson, the resident engineer for the project, says her team has worked hard to do outreach with all local business owners.
“We want to make sure that all of these businesses understand how their customers will continue to see them even during construction,” Johnson said.
Although they've tried to impact as few businesses as possible, a project of this size is still bound to change the surrounding community. Johnson says the project has forced 41 businesses to fully relocate.
When it's finished, she says it will connect the capital, coast and military bases with a more convenient roadway.
The NCDOT is building five interchanges in James City. There won't be road closures during the day or on weekends during peak season, so the construction shouldn't interrupt trips down to the beach. The NCDOT plans to finish the project by the end of 2024.