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Prepare for weeks of lane closures as a contractor does preliminary work on the first stretch of a $1.5 billion widening of Interstate 85 near Charlotte, state highway officials said Friday.

Lane closures are scheduled to begin Sunday night near the I-85 bridge over the South Fork Catawba River, just north of McAdenville in Gaston County, officials said.

Closures will allow engineers to “begin a geotechnical investigation” for the first, $337 million stretch of widening, according to a North Carolina Department of Transportation news release.

Engineers will learn through the investigation what’s under the road surface, officials said. The findings will be used to help design a wider bridge, according to the state.

“Starting Sunday night, the right lane of I-85 North near the bridge will close from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., continuing through Friday morning, depending on the contractor’s progress,” according to an NCDOT news release on Tuesday.

The right lane closure was originally expected to continue through Thursday.

First stretch of widening is under design

NCDOT awarded the $337 million contract to Lane Construction Corp. this year for the first segment of the project, which includes:

• An additional lane in each direction from N.C. 7 Exit 23 to N.C. 273 Exit 27).

• Fixing or replacing the bridge and several others along the route.

• Improvements to interchanges to lessen congestion.

The first stretch of widening is under design, and construction is “likely to begin” next summer, according to NCDOT.

The initial stretch spans four congested, wreck-prone miles of Interstate 85, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Lane Construction Corp. will widen I-85 from six to eight lanes, with a 26-foot median between N.C. 7 exit 23 in Mount Holly and N.C. 273 exit 27 near the Catawba River in Belmont, according to NCDOT.

Bridges to be replaced or improved are on N.C. 7 over I-85; I-85 over the South Fork Catawba River; Hickory Grove Road over I-85; Belmont-Mt. Holly Road/Main Street over I-85; P&R Railway over I-85, east of Belmont-Mt. Holly Road; and N.C. 273 over I-85.

The intersection of N.C. 7/U.S. 29/U.S. 74 (Wilkinson Boulevard) will be redesigned to reduce wrecks, according to NCDOT.

Widening I-85 to U.S. 321

NCDOT eventually plans to expand the interstate to U.S. 321 in Gastonia, totaling about 10 miles of widening and other improvements.

In late 2028, the department intends to advertise for bids on the segment from McAdenville Road exit 23 to the U.S. 321 interchange exit 17, officials said.

The intersection of Cox Road and U.S. 29-74/Franklin Boulevard will be improved.

A contractor and designer are working on plans for three railroad bridges and a roadway bridge through the section.

NCDOT first revealed plans for the 10-mile widening in August 2022.

Bethany Torimino's art is often inspired by local folklore, and a festival that used to be held in Gastonia became the basis of a painting.

The festival, called the Fish Camp Jam, celebrated Gastonia restaurants, and it ended in the late 1990s after local interest faded.

"I'm really inspired by folklore, local stories, hyperbole," Torimino said. "I have a strong appreciation for small towns and the stories that you find there."

At the Fish Camp Jam festival, there would be catfish races that benefited civic groups.

"I was just fascinated by that concept," she said. "I live over by the (Muddy River Distillery). I took a kayak out one day with my painting stuff over by the bridge that's by the distillery and painted two giant catfish that are kind of jammed underneath that bridge."

Originally from Montesano, a small town in Washington south of the Olympic Mountains, Torimino got her start in art early.

"I have always kind of been the artistic one in the family," she said.

She initially attended cosmetic school, and she also considered studying interior design. In college, she took painting, drawing and art history classes, eventually pivoting to study anthropology. She earned her degree in anthropology from Central Washington University, graduating in 2012.

After college, she focused on her career in UX research. Torimino moved to the southeast in 2019 when she accepted a position in Charleston. She moved to Mount Holly in 2021.

She joined Arts on the Greenway, a Mount Holly arts nonprofit and incubator space, two years ago, and she advocated for a revamping of the nonprofit's website.

"I saw so many opportunities here to modernize the digital infrastructure," she said. "There really was no digital infrastructure. That's been a lot of my work over the past year."

Now, she hopes to eventually go back to graduate school.

"A lot of the work that I've done here with building out the digital infrastructure has been kind of an important portfolio piece in that process of preparing for that application," she said.

Artistically, she wants to work toward a vision of using the arts to serve neurodiverse children.

"Kids who are maybe more like neurodiverse. I'm really inspired … by a lot of the literature coming out that is celebrating and bringing awareness to kids with neurodiverse needs and abilities," she said. "It's wonderful and inspiring."

"As a UX researcher in the art field, there's design for people with ADA needs, and there's a lot of opportunity in that field to be more creative and innovative," she added. "I could see that coming together with a youth arts program that kind of brings it all together in some way. What that looks like or it's called, I'm not sure yet. I'm kind of in this discovery phase."

Halloween is right around the corner and children are picking out costumes. For families looking for candy-filled events this season, here is a look at some trunk-or-treat opportunities for kids and other fall festivals happening in Gaston in coming weeks.

Trunk-or-treat

Other city-sponsored events

Bessemer City’s Creepy Crawl, which is set to take place from 1-6 p.m. Oct. 26, on West Virginia Avenue. It will include vendors, drinks from Stardust Cellars Meadery, live music from artists World Sauntering Day and The Raven & The Road, and a ghost tour from 5-6 p.m.

Cherryville’s “Scaryville” will include a costume contest with a $500 cash prize, “ghostly” hayrides, a beer garden and a pumpkin play area for children from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 17. In the city’s downtown.

Halloween Fest, which will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Citizens Resource Center at Dallas Park, 1303 Dallas-Cherryville Hwy. in Dallas. It will include candy, games, a costume contest and activities.

Break out some dancing shoes for Lowell's adult Boo-goe Night, which will include music and dancing. Costumes are encouraged. The event costs $5 to enter.

Local business events

Some local businesses are also hosting Halloween parties, spooky story times and more. Here is a look at some of those events:

Traust Brewing

Vampyre's Ball 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17, at 128 S. Main St. in Mount Holly.

Daniel Stowe Conservancy

Spookeasy at Farmhouse from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 17.

Cars Coffee: Trunk-or-Treat from 8:30-10 a.m. Oct. 19.

Moonlight Series: Campfire Spooky Stories from 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 24

Bootanical event from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 19. Children in costume get in free. All events take place at 6500 S. New Hope Road in Belmont.

The Rooster

Shocktober Halloween Bash 6-11:30 p.m. Oct. 31, at 334 W. Main Ave. in Gastonia.

Primal Brewery

Halloween Bash 6-11 p.m. Oct. 31, at 52 Ervin St. in Belmont.

Summit Beer

Halloween Bash from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 31, at 122 S. Main St. in Mount Holly.

Confluence

Halloween Party from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 31, on Center St. in Cramerton.

Kates Skating Rink

Halloween sip & skate from 8-11 p.m. Oct. 31, at 1151 Skating Rink Drive in Gastonia.