Several months ago, a new traffic pattern was established on a segment of Fifth Street in Washington. Now, although hampered by recent rains, that section is being prepared for resurfacing.

In recent days, weather permitting, crews have been preparing that section of Fifth Street (also known as U.S. Highway 264 and part of it known as John Small Avenue) from Whispering Pines Road to the terminus of East 12^th Street (near the Walgreen’s and CVS pharmacies) for new asphalt. In March, the City Council unanimously endorsed the plan to resurface that section of roadway.

Once the resurfacing project is completed, that section will be marked to reflect the change in the traffic pattern put in place this past spring. The N.C. Department of Transportation is in charge of the project. Earlier this year, DOT crews used paint to temporarily mark the section.

“What you see out there now is temporary. The final is going to look a lot better once it’s able to be resurfaced this summer during this paving season,” said John Rouse, DOT’s division engineer for its Division 2 (which includes Beaufort County), to the City Council in June. “We’re going to come back with thermo-plastic pavement markings, which are much brighter. It will look a lot better. They’re wider; they’re brighter. They have glass, reflective beads in it so they’re very visible at night.”

The temporary marking project converted the four-lane configuration to a three-lane configuration — an eastbound lane, a westbound lane and a center left-turn lane. Rouse said the new configuration would make the section of road safer, especially at intersections. He also said the new alignment would not change the width of the road.

Rouse said the new three-lane configuration would make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists using that section of road.

The project came as a surprise to the city earlier this year.

“It was our understanding after Third Street (resurfacing), and I think there was some miscommunication on our part, it was our understanding that after Third Street had been completed, that we didn’t anticipate Fifth Street being resurfaced,” then-City Manager Brian Alligood said at the council’s March 23 meeting. “We found out a week or so ago that it was going to be in the program, so we’re very pleased about that.”