Havelock bypass opens after years of construction

CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A 10-mile highway bypass that will help shorten the trip to the beach opened up this afternoon.

The Department of Transportation held an official ribbon-cutting for the Havelock bypass this morning. By mid-afternoon, traffic was flowing on the new highway.

The U.S. 70 Havelock bypass project, which runs from northern Havelock to the Craven–Carteret County border, has been under construction since 2019.

Traffic on U.S. 70 will no longer have to go through Havelock and endure multiple stop lights.

However, some businesses are concerned that the lack of that traffic will hurt their bottom line.

The project was originally projected to finish in the spring of 2024, with costs around $167 million, but construction was delayed, and costs rose to $259 million.

The DOT says that since 2019, the pandemic has not only increased the cost of many project materials but also the timeline.

The summer, engineers said the bypass would open next summer.