Where to expect road closures, detours on Fort Liberty in coming months

FORT LIBERTY — Street closures, potholes and road repairs were at the forefront of discussions at Fort Liberty this month.

During the installation’s Jan. 17 monthly Community Action Council, officials laid out details about which roads will be closed in the coming months and fielded several questions from social media users about the conditions of other roads on post.

Of the road closures, King Road is currently impacted by culvert work that should be complete by the end of this month, said Steve Wykle, director of Fort Liberty’s Directorate of Public Works.

The focus will shift to Manchester Road, which will have culvert work from March to May, Wykle said.

“That will involve some disruption to the traffic,” he said.

During the work, Manchester Road will be shut down from Bridge Road to Lamont Road toward N.C. 690 and N.C. 24. Military vehicles will only be allowed access.

Once culvert work is complete in May, widening and realignment work will start near the western portion of King Road and Manchester Road and is expected to last until November 2025, Wykle said.

Segments of Manchester Road will also be resurfaced during the same period.

Morganton, Plank and King roads will serve as a detour, or drivers traveling from the northwest or western Harnett County can use Vass Road, Wykle said.

Additionally, Pratt Street will be closed for repairs from March to July, and several railroad crossings will have repairs.

Wykle said he will have more information next month, but drivers can expect to see Honeycutt Road also having work and detours during the summer.

Updates on construction dates, closures and detours can be found by clicking the Fort Liberty roads projects tab on the Fort Liberty website at www.army.mil/liberty.

Bad roads

In other road-related discussions, several social media users submitted concerns ahead of this month’s meeting about some roads on post with deep holes or caving in.

The locations mentioned included Rhine Road, past Irwin Intermediate School; Sapper Street; and the intersection of Honeycutt Road and Sicily Drive, along with several residential streets on post.

Col. John Wilcox, Fort Liberty’s garrison commander, and Wykle acknowledged that roads are in bad condition on post.

Wilcox said it’s been an ongoing issue the past 16 years he’s lived on post.

“Roads have been an issue that I’ve sworn that we’re going to get after,” he said. “Now, it took a little time to get the engines moving.”

He said it typically takes about 18 months once a road is identified and approved for funding, until road construction begins.

“It hasn’t been a lack of interest,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox said the Army’s agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the work means that Fort Liberty will be using the “bulk of asphalt" produced in the state during the next few months.

Wykle estimated that about $15-20 million is spent on road repairs on post annually.

He said nine roads, including Sapper Street and the intersection of Honeycutt Road and Sicily Drive, were identified for repair and are in a redesign phase and will be repaired once funding is available.

For neighborhood streets, Wykle said that Fort Liberty’s housing partner, Corvias, maintains 59.1 miles of road.

He said Corvias is looking at switching its materials used to fix potholes for longer-term sustainability.

Wilcox indicated that garrison officials will see if DPW can help Corvias address some of those roads.

Speeding

During other business, officials also addressed questions about speeding on post.

Since the installation put a speeding policy in place that speeders going more 15 mph over the posted speed limit are subject to having their driver’s licenses suspended, more than 1,600 citations have been issued, said Assistant Chief Jeffery Gassaway, station commander for Fort Liberty police.

Of the citations, Gassaway said, about 1,300 drivers have either had their license suspended, have a license currently suspended or are pending suspension.

“Additionally, we have several that are two-time offenders, which is 180 days (suspension) by the actual policy,” he said. "So, the enforcement is going on.”

Wilcox said the policy is not going away. In the past 30 months, he said, there have been more than 33 fatalities from either speed or alcohol.

“We were not willing to continue to stand by and observe this problem without taking direct action,” he said. "We ask you to continue to be part of the solution ... There will be no adjustments or amendments to the policy.”

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What Fort Liberty roads are set to close in upcoming months