Water line break closes lanes on Airport Boulevard in Cary

A water line break near Raleigh-Durham International Airport forced lane closures on Airport Boulevard in Cary and turned a routine Friday commute into a slow crawl near Interstate 40. The break was reported around noon on June 26 near Airport Boulevard and Sorrel Grove Church Road, in one of western Wake County’s most heavily traveled airport-access corridors.

Cary officials said the center turn lane and the left through lane on Airport Boulevard heading toward I-40 were closed, and traffic from the blocked lane was merged into the right through lane. Repairs were expected to take about 12 hours, with the work possibly lasting into late Friday night. In practice, that meant delays for drivers trying to reach the airport, nearby office parks and businesses that depend on steady flow along the corridor.

The disruption quickly spread beyond the repair site. Traffic backed up along parts of the route, with gridlock stretching toward Slater Road and near a Bojangles location, underscoring how a utility break on a major suburban road can ripple through the entire airport approach. Drivers traveling from I-40 toward Perimeter Park Drive were not affected by the closure, giving some commuters at least one clear path through the area while crews worked.

The location matters because Airport Boulevard sits beside the I-40 interchange and carries heavy daily traffic tied to airport trips, retail traffic and west Cary growth. The Town of Cary has identified that area as part of its broader water and transportation planning, including a Critical Watermain Location Project that began in 2016 to improve locating, mapping and inspection of infrastructure in critical transmission corridors. Cary says older, non-metallic watermains can be difficult to locate and can serve large residential and commercial areas, making quick repairs more challenging when a break happens without warning.

The town also lists a Campbell Road waterline connection project aimed at improving water quality and resiliency in the distribution system, and it says the I-40 at Airport Boulevard Interchange Improvements project is one of several funded transportation projects in Cary. NCDOT is proposing a diverging diamond interchange at that location to handle heavy left-turn traffic at the ramps, a reminder that even a short-lived water line failure near the interchange can create outsized congestion for commuters, airport travelers and nearby businesses.