RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) -- The loop from U.S. 64 to U.S. 220 in Asheboro is a notorious stretch of road in Randolph County.
Construction is underway to fix some of the issues at the Cloverleaf interchange from U.S. 64 to Highway 49. The plan calls to add more lanes to U.S. 64, making it wider, and the bridge on Highway 49 that goes over U.S. 64 will be replaced, but it will take four years to get the job done.
"There's a lot of wrecks that happen ... I'm glad that the construction is going to break that down and work it out," said the clerk of the Exxon off Highway 49, Felecia Hooker.
Soon, ramps will be modified to help people merge more seamlessly into traffic.
Hooker says theentire interchange is dangerous, and it's been like that her whole life.
The construction starts in Asheboro and goes to the interchange at Highway 49 just east of Ramseur.
Hooker says it's a popular area because U.S. 64 is a major connector from Lexington to Raleigh.
"A lot of people come from out of town and stop at our gas station ... When they come through, they will complain about the intersection and the bridges," Hooker said.
People like Arnie Rabon, who drives an 18-wheeler that isn't standard size, have to stay alert when passing under low-clearance bridges like the one on Highway 49 that goes over U.S. 64.
"I hit mine. It's pretty high, and I have to drop it ... You've got to know what you're doing because if you're pretty high, you'll hit it," Rabon said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation confirmed that the bridge gets hit every few years.
John Christopher Lowe has been driving the road for years. He says the bridge needed to be fixed decades ago after a fatal crash.
"A backhoe was being pulled by a construction truck and hit the bridge ... Fell off the trailer into another car," Lowe said.
The new bridge will be built to the west of the current bridge, and it will be taller.
The NCDOT doesn't expect any major traffic issues or detours until further into the project.
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