A half-mile of East Third Street, which is also N.C. 711, will be closed between Jones Street and Odum Street beginning next week.

The closure to through-traffic is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Monday, May 12. Because several businesses operate on this road, contract crews for the N.C. Department of Transportation will close small sections at a time, requiring customers and others to take side streets to avoid the construction.

However, detour signs will direct commercial trucks to use a longer detour between Jones Road, which is east of town, and East Railroad Street, Union Chapel Road, Cornith Road and Prospect Road/North Odum Street, returning to N.C. 711. 

During the closure, crews will do storm drainage work. The roadway is expected to fully reopen by May 21, if not a few days sooner.

In January 2024, NCDOT and town officials broke ground on an $8.5 million project to reconstruct several downtown streets and sidewalks.

Editor's note: The contractor has informed NCDOT it will postpone the work described below due to the forecast of showers for most of this week. NCDOT will announce a new timeline later.