Highway 16 bypass may not open until spring

DENVER, N.C. -- The next leg of the Highway 16 bypass project in Denver is all but ready to open but you won't be able to drive on it anytime soon.

In fact, it might be next spring before drivers can use the stretch of highway from Optimist Club Road north to St. James Church Road that now sits empty.

"Correct, it's closed," said George Garey, the resident engineer from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Before the new stretch can open, the intersection at St. James and old Highway 16 has to be reworked to handle the traffic coming off the new bypass.

That work hasn't even started yet and won't start now because winter is coming on. The state does not allow paving work after Dec. 15 because freezing temperatures can affect the newly laid pavement.

This all means months of more frustration for people who live and work in the area of old Highway 16 that is always clogged with traffic.

"They got to fix it," said resident Howard Cronce. "There is a lot of traffic on this road every night ... and there would be only about half of that if they would open that highway."

Even though the bypass has been in the works for years, the state didn't come up with the $200,000 for the work at intersection until recently.

Giovanni Chiofalo, who runs a restaurant near the intersection, just shook his head when he was told why the next leg of the bypass would not be opening soon. His message to the DOT, "Hurry up and get it done."

The response from DOT engineer Garey was, "I'm sorry."

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