Improvements to U.S. 1 in Southern Pines are on schedule and should be complete by the Nov. 20 target date.

The project, funded by $3 million in federal stimulus money, is widening and resurfacing the roadway and paving shoulders along 8.1 miles from Morganton Road to Aiken Road.

Ron Van Cleef, assistant resident engineer, N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT), says the project also includes extension of turn lanes at the Stars Charter school entrance in Skyline.

"When it is complete, the road will have four 14-foot lanes and will make the whole area a lot safer," Van Cleef said.

Van Cleef says the contractor, S.T. Wooten, expects to begin laying asphalt for the resurfacing work as early as next week.

The highway was built without paved shoulders in that section, according to Jeff Picklesimer, NCDOT division maintenance engineer. This project is planned to correct that omission.

"Things are going pretty well," Van Cleef said of the U.S. 1 project.

He says few delays have hampered the work since the project was begun in July.

NCDOT traffic studies show that about 20,000 vehicles travel this stretch of U.S. 1 daily.

The U.S. 1 improvements represent one of two Moore County highway projects funded though the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The $8 million allocation to Moore County is part of $466 million in economic stimulus funds awarded for 70 highway and bridge projects across North Carolina.

The other project is widening, strengthening and adding turn lanes on 9.4 miles of N.C. 24-27 from N.C. 705 near Robbins to the Montgomery County line. A guardrail is also being installed. The $2.8 million contract went to Riley Paving Inc. of Carthage.

Under this contract, N.C. 24-27 is being widened by two feet on each side with turn lanes added at major intersections.

Under the ARRA program, the state was required to designate the use of the stimulus money within 120 days of receipt and to designate the remaining funds within a year.

State transportation officials estimate that these projects will create about 14,000 jobs in North Carolina.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at 693-2479 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.