First Posted: 7/25/2014

MAXTON — The state Department of Transportation has postponed Monday’s closing of a portion of N.C. 71 between Maxton and Red Springs until later in the week.

DOT officials were set to reroute traffic beginning on Monday to widen a concrete culvert near Gum Swamp about three miles from the Wakulla community.

But the work has been delayed so DOT officials can figure out how to move water and power lines near the culvert.

“We plan to all meet out there Monday morning to figure out what needs to be done with those utility lines,” said Donovan Hunt, assistant resident engineer for Robeson County. “Once we get that out of the way, we may be able to start later in the week.”

Once underway, the work is expected to take two weeks and cost $1.1 million.

Chuck Miller, the district engineer for Robeson County, said the concrete culvert under the road is too narrow.

“It needs to be widened,” Miller said. “The culvert is used to help convey water from one side to the other.”

Drivers will be detoured to Oxendine School Road, just north of the Campbell Soup, and continue on to N.C. 71 just outside Wakulla. The detour is about six miles.

“We hope to keep the time frame on that work very short,” Miller said. “We don’t want to keep N.C. 71 closed any longer than necessary.”