SALISBURY — The Julian Road widening project may be taking longer than originally planned, but the North Carolina Department of Transportation currently anticipates the road to be fully opened by the end of 2024.

The project has hit delays due both to the COVID-19 pandemic, including delays with acquiring ductile iron piping early in the project, said Salisbury Transportation Director Wendy Brindle, who has been in contact with NCDOT Resident Engineer Eric Goldston. By the end of the year, the NCDOT anticipates having both sides of the alignment open and in its final traffic pattern.

However, the project likely will not be fully completed until March of 2025, when the weather will allow for final surface paving and permanent road striping.

Once completed, the project will have widened Julian Road to a four-lane road with a dividing median in the center in between Jake Alexander Boulevard and Summit Park Drive. Pedestrian and biking improvements were also included in the project.

The project began construction in 2022 after initially being scheduled for 2020, a delay which occurred due to budget concerns, according to an NCDOT document titled “Changes Between the Draft 2020-2029 STIP and Final 2020-2029 STIP.”