The drive between the Triangle and Morehead City will get a little easier on Friday with the opening of the U.S. 70 bypass around Havelock.
The 10.3-mile highway is expected to be open by Friday evening, after the N.C. Department of Transportation and state and local officials hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the morning. The highway will allow drivers to avoid a congested section of U.S. 70 outside Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
Construction of the $259 million highway began in the fall of 2019, as part of a larger effort to turn U.S. 70 into an interstate highway between Wake County and the coast…