An intersection with the Gates Four Golf & Country Club will be upgraded and widened, after the N.C. Department of Transportation awarded a $1.2 million bid last week.

A local contractor, Highland Paving Co., will add a traffic signal and install a left-turn lane in each direction of Lakewood Drive at Towbridge Road, which leads into the sprawling gated community. In addition, a dedicated right-turn lane will be constructed on Lakewood Drive going south for drivers entering Gates Four.

Lakewood Drive, which carries about 13,000 vehicles each day, is an important route serving parts of western Fayetteville and used by people to reach Jack Britt High School on the southern end, and  two smaller schools on the northern end.

The contractor can begin next month, and will have until next summer to complete all of the improvements.