Will they EVER finish latest U.S. 74 widening effort? Yes, in the fall, state says.

The contractor that began widening nearly 2 miles of Independence Boulevard back in 2013 says it will be finished in the fall.

Lane Construction says the remaining work on the $51.2 million project includes installing some traffic lights and signs, putting in concrete islands and applying a final asphalt surface to the roadway.

The state’s most recent widening project on Independence is converting a roughly 1.6-mile stretch between Albemarle Road and Wallace Lane in east Charlotte to an eight-lane freeway. The existing six-lane roadway will be widened to include four general purpose lanes and one bus lane in each direction.

Motorists using the interchange at Sharon Amity Road are reminded to use the new loop ramp to access U.S. 74 East.

During construction of the interchange, traffic was directed from U.S. 74 East along Charleston Drive to access Sharon Amity Road. Now that the loop ramp is open for access to and from U.S. 74 East, Charleston Drive is intended only for local traffic.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Will they EVER finish latest U.S. 74 widening effort? Yes, in the fall, state says.."