news-record.com

A highway project dating back on planning documents to the time of President John Kennedy's administration finally should become a fulfilled reality this year.

Work should conclude this fall on the final segment of new U.S. 311, which will tie the highway from Interstate 40 in southeastern Forsyth County through High Point to U.S. 220 in northern Randolph County. The concept for the highway first appeared on planning documents in the early 1960s.

The expressway has been built in segments through the years. The final 8-mile section, under construction now, will reach from the Cedar Square Road interchange in the Randolph County community of Glenola to U.S. 220 north of Asheboro.

The N.C. Department of Transportation still is on track to finish the final section of U.S. 311 in October, said Jeff Loflin, DOT resident engineer.

Work crews have completed or nearly finished nine of the 10 bridges in the last segment, Loflin said.

"We have completed all the culverts and graded 80 percent of the roadway," he said.

On about half of the 8-mile section, DOT crews have started paving the road surface.

"If we have a good, productive summer, we should definitely finish it on time. We'll know more near the end of the summer," Loflin said.

U.S. 311 will become part of the Interstate 74 system. When I-74 is complete, it will reach from the Midwest to the Myrtle Beach area of the South Carolina coast.

Economic developers and business recruiters in the Piedmont have lobbied for the roadway's completion for years, saying it will open up the area to further growth.

"Completing this local southern link of I-74 is important to commerce in our area, directly linking High Point to Asheboro and points south. High Point and the Piedmont Triad region will realize greater benefits, of course, when the freeway is completed in North Carolina -- from Winston-Salem to the north and from city of Rockingham south and east," said Loren Hill, president of the High Point Economic Development Corp.