NCCU church to restart move Fri.

DURHAM -- Traffic will be detoured around a four-block stretch of Fayetteville Street on Friday while N.C. Central University completes the process of moving the historic Holy Cross Church building.

The building, the longtime home of one of the oldest African-American Catholic congregations in the state, was moved across the NCCU campus last Friday and Saturday from its original location on Alston Street. That phase of the move took longer than anticipated, however, so the second phase -- moving the building up Fayetteville Street to its new spot at the corner of Formosa Avenue -- had to be postponed.

The church now rests atop a platform on Nelson Street near the corner of Fayetteville Street. The two-block move up Fayetteville Street on Friday will begin about 6 a.m. Utility services will be turned off for about two dozen homes in the neighborhood while the move takes place.

Fayetteville Street traffic will be rerouted one block west to Concord Street between Nelson and Lawson streets. NCCU police officers will be posted at the affected intersections to direct traffic.

Neighborhood residents have been advised that the detours and power interruptions could last till late afternoon, but university officials said they hoped to be finished before then.

The church will be placed on a new foundation next to the James E. Shepard House. When it reopens, it will be used as a meeting place for the university and the community.