• By Todd Luck
• Posted Monday, November 19, 2018

Agencies oversee first successful morning of Bus. 40 closure

City/County Emergency Management has activated its Multi-Agency Coordination Center to oversee rush hour traffic for the first two workdays of the Bus. 40 closure.

The center is located in the Forsyth County Public Safety Center and will operate from 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19, and Tuesday, Nov. 20. It has representatives from 25 agencies, including local public safety agencies, city and state transportation departments and critical infrastructure like local hospitals, universities and bus services.

“With all the unknowns, we went ahead and activated it just to put all the agencies in the same room to be able to respond properly if there are any serious issues or incidents that pop up,” said August Vernon, City-County Emergency Management director.

NC DOT recommends that drivers plan their routes in advance, allow an extra 25 minutes on trips both ways and use alternate methods of transportation such as carpooling and taking the bus.

Monday morning rush hour traffic ran smoothly. School buses arrived on time and there were no major incidents. NC DOT Division Engineer Pat Ivey, who oversees the Bus. 40 Project, credited the successful first morning to the public heeding the department’s advice on how to avoid traffic congestion.