A planned July 15 opening date has come and gone, but a new exit off I-77 at Langtree Road, a mile north of Davidson, is still closed as construction crews put the finishing touches on new on and off ramps.

A state DOT engineer said Monday he thinks the new Exit 31 will open late next week, certainly by Aug. 1.

“I don’t know the exact date. We are currently wrapping up,” said John Cook, a DOT resident engineer overseeing the work. “We’ll have a final inspection next week some time. We’re looking at the end of the week.”

He said the road should be open by Aug. 1, barring any weather delays.

Work on the $21.4 million project began in March 2007, and the state DOT had recently listed the opening date as July 15. But Mr. Cook said rain has pushed back the opening.

The exit will provide access to a major new development on Langtree Road called Langtree at the Lake. That massive project is expected to cost at least $880 million, and include homes, 300,000 square feet of Class A office space, shops, restaurants and boutiques.

It’s also near the corporate headquarters of Lowe’s Co., which is expanding its massive campus off N.C. 115 in Mount Mourne. The new eventually will provide employees with a second route onto the corporate campus, in addition to Exit 33.

WHAT NUMBER IS IT?

Meanwhile, confusion continues over exactly what number the exit will have. Mooresville officials and some other news reports have been calling it Exit 32. DOT officials say it will be called Exit 31 – the number DavidsonNews.net has been using as well.

DOT traffic engineer Sam Nichols said Monday it should be 31. “You’re talking about the Langtree exit?” he said. “It’s Exit 31.”

He said that’s the number he and his colleagues have been using, and that’s how it’s marked on DOT plans.