Editor’s note: Ask Us is a weekly feature published online Mondays and in print on Tuesdays. We’ll seek to answer your questions about items or trends in Rowan County. Have a question? Email it to askus@salisburypost.com.

SALISBURY — A reader asked about the construction going on near Tinseltown Shopping Center in Salisbury.

It is part of the ongoing Newsome Road Extension project, according to Pat Ivey, division engineer for Highway Division 9 of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The new road will connect Innes Street to Bendix Drive.

The project is being done in two phases, and the first has been completed. DOT provided the money and the city of Salisbury administered the contract for the first section of the new road, which connects Innes Street and Faith Road. This section is already open.

The second part is set to be completed by the end of the year. DOT is administering that half of the project, which will connect Faith Road and Bendix Drive.

The project is designed to provide connectivity in a very busy area, Ivey said.

Another aim is to improve safety. It will allow for a median to be installed on Faith Road near the Bendix intersection. Accidents are frequent at Bendix Drive and Faith Road, Ivey said, as traffic gets backed up because of the traffic signal at Innes Street. Once the new road is complete, drivers can use it to turn left at that intersection.

As for the role of Tinseltown Shopping Center, Ivey said DOT is using part of the main roadway that goes through the shopping center. Access points to the shopping center will remain in place. There will also be access points to the shopping center from the new road.