WSSU, stadium have new U.S. 52 interchange
Changes coming to MLK Drive, too
Starting on Wednesday, July 12, the U.S. Highway 52 interchange for Rams Drive has permanently closed and an interchange for Research Parkway is now the entrance to Winston-Salem State University and Bowman Gray Stadium from that highway.
Those who use Martin Luther King Jr. Drive or Business 40 to get to the stadium aren’t affected. Parking lot entrances and exits at the stadium will change to accommodate the new traffic pattern.
As part of the change, the Rams Drive bridge over U.S. 52 is being removed. This will close down U.S. 52 from Interstate 40 to Business 40 from late Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23. Rams Drive will then be closed to through traffic during the construction of a new bridge that’s scheduled to be completed by December.
N.C. Department of Transportation Division (DOT) Engineer Pat Ivey said the new interchange will give motorists more weaving room on the highway and should relieve traffic on MLK from people driving through WSSU to get to U.S. 52.
There are even more changes ahead for MLK Drive. There’s planned construction from summer 2018 though fall 2018 to widen it between North Liberty Street and Marshall Street. This will let it accommodate the additional traffic from the planned closing for construction of Business 40 starting in fall 2018. The N.C. DOT’s long-term plans for MLK and Eighth Street involve an extension that’ll connect it to Northwest Boulevard near Broad Street, with construction tentatively scheduled for 2027.
