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Brookwood-Caney set for reopening
Work continues along Hwy. 141
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Forsyth County News
The Brookwood-Caney Road crossing should be open to traffic by the end of the week.

A detour had been set up for the intersection while crews worked to improve sight distance as part of the 6.5-mile road widening project on Hwy. 141 from Hwy. 9 to McGinnis Ferry Road.

Weather permitting, the intersection should open after noon Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.

Teri Pope, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said she hopes the early finish will restore confidence in the Hwy. 141 project.

The overall $50.7 million project, which began in 2006, was originally supposed to be complete in July 2009.

Many factors have contributed to the delay, among them foul weather, hitches relocating utility lines and issues with the road design firm.

The project is currently about 76 percent complete and slated to meet its revised Dec. 31 deadline.

“The weather has really helped us,” Pope said. “Even though it has been wet, the contractor has worked inside of the weather and has gotten it done a little bit ahead of schedule.

“The contractor’s goal ... is to get all four lanes of Hwy. 141 open to traffic by Nov. 1.”

Next for the project is to shift traffic on Hwy. 141 between Vaughn and Sharon roads.

Thursday’s reopening will not include a right turn lane from Brookwood Road onto Hwy. 141, though motorists can use the far right lane as a turning lane.

As new lanes are added, Pope said crews will then shift traffic to the new lanes while the old ones are reworked.

“It’s an intricate dance,” she said. “You’ve got to build the new part and shift traffic to it so traffic can continue to flow ... but any time you’re widening a footprint, that’s going to change the drainage completely.

“So it’s a lot of stuff that most folks don’t normally notice, but it’s critical to the operation of a roadway.”

In the meantime, DOT district construction engineer Randall Davis urged motorists to “slow down and pay attention as these changes occur.”