SALISBURY — Construction is scheduled to start as soon as July 8 on a 10.8-mile project on Interstate 85 just as work to widen the highway in southern Rowan County nears completion.

The widening project will make I-85 a four-lane highway on both sides through the entire county. The work began in November 2017.

The new project includes concrete pavement rehabilitation and bridge preservation work that will improve driving conditions, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Transportation. It also involves new pavement markings and reflective markers.

The work may begin as early as July 8 and is scheduled to be completed by June 1, 2021. A decision on where the work will start will be announced by DOT once the schedule is decided, said Pat Ivey, DOT’s Division 9 engineer.

DOT awarded the $16.3 million contract to Blythe Development Co. of Charlotte in May.

The work will take place in two sections. One will stretch from the U.S. 29/601 connector in China Grove to U.S. 601 in Salisbury. The other will be from south of U.S. 52 in Salisbury to north of Long Ferry Road in Spencer.

Most of the work will be done at night, Ivey said. Any work done in the daytime will be outside peak hours. Some lane closures will result, including intervals as long as two weeks when four lanes of traffic will be taken down to two in either direction.

DOT reminds drivers on I-85 to watch signs for construction information, stay alert and obey the posted speed limit in the work zone.