As part of the ongoing work on the new Route 58 Hillsville Bypass in Carroll County, two traffic changes are planned in May.

The exact dates of these changes may be adjusted as they are weather dependent. Message boards will be in place on Route 58 to advise motorists of these upcoming traffic switches.

The first change tentatively is scheduled for Wednesday, May 19 and will affect the eastern end of the Hillsville Bypass project. Traffic on the two-lane section of Route 58 will be shifted onto a newly constructed 1,100-foot stretch of two-lane roadway.

Once shifted, Route 58 traffic will remain in a two-lane configuration with one travel lane for each direction. Traffic will be routed off of the section of Route 58 that starts about 0.3 mile east of Route 669 (Spring Hollow Road) and extends to 0.1 mile east of Route 820 (Freemont Road).

The second traffic change tentatively is planned for Tuesday, May 25 and will affect the western end of the bypass project where the bridge over Little Reed Island Creek is closed for reconstruction.

Currently, traffic on this four-lane section of Route 58 is reduced to one lane in each direction and shifted into the westbound lanes. The upcoming change will keep traffic reduced to one lane in each direction but shift it from the westbound lanes into the eastbound lanes of Route 58.

Construction of the new 5.2-mile Route 58 Bypass began in fall 2007 with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, 2011.