HIGH POINT, N.C. — Since 2006, Esther Asprogiannis has been serving up breakfast and lunch at The Peppermill Cafe, located off the nearly 70-year-old bridge that traffics thousands of vehicles each day.

 

What You Need To Know

  • The High Point interchange overhaul has been in the works for several years
  • The North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded a $25.3 million contract to Guilford County for this project
  • The interchange in question is the South Main Street interchange on U.S. 29-70/I-85 Business

 

“We’ve been on this end of town since 1987,” Asprogiannis said.

The South Main Street interchange in High Point has allowed many of Esther’s customers easy access to get in, eat and get out, but now this bridge looks as old as it feels and finally, it’s time for a facelift.

“The ramp actually needs to be longer because when those trucks are coming down and you’re trying to get over, you really can’t, so it makes it a hazard. You cannot see past a certain point on that bridge. The bridge is old and it’s narrowed, so it’s sure to collapse at some point,” Asprogiannis said.

With change, however, comes some delays for Esther’s cafe.

“The interruption won’t be good cause we have to pick another highway to come in and off of, but once it’s done, I think it will make it easier to shoot on the other end of town,” Asprogiannis said.

She says the results will outweigh the consequences.

“I think it will be better. When people see something nice coming off the highway, it looks a whole lot better for your town, so those improvements need to be carried all the way through,” Asprogiannis said.

The $25-million project has been in the works for several years and at the end of March, the ball is finally going to get to rolling.

“I’m happy that the City of High Point is doing it. They’re on the right track,” Asprogiannis said.

The bridge being replaced is just the tip of the iceberg for this project. Turn lanes will be widened and sidewalks expanded, all to secure the safety for pedestrians and drivers alike.

“I don’t know about the people coming off the highway and how it will affect them and what route they’re going to be taking,” Asprogiannis said. “It’s going to affect the bridge, but it’s going to affect that one bridge. Like, is the highway going to be open and people can still get through?”

The answer to that is yes, workers will put a temporary bridge into place so two lanes will stay open throughout the project. The goal of this project is to modernize, something High Point seems to be doing a lot of lately.

“Now we’re seeing an uptick in 'hey, let’s pay attention to this end of town, let’s do something about it, let’s bring all of High Point up and make all of High Point more valuable to the customers that are coming in,'” Asprogiannis said.

Esther has no complaints on the push for this modernization.

“It’ll be nice to kind of, you know, give us a boost,” Asprogiannis said.