DOT officials meet with Stecoah residents
Stecoah – It was not so much met with opposition; rather, it was met with questions.
N.C. Department of Transportation, Division 14 representatives met with Stecoah residents for a 40-minute public hearing over the Corridor K project Tuesday evening. The much-discussed, seemingly never-ending plan has now finished environmental testing in Graham County and before the work can begin, a 30-day public comment period – which ends Friday, Oct. 30 – is underway.
Only about a dozen members of the public attended the hearing, with the format quickly devolving into a Q&A session, as topics such as loss of residence to the availability of lanes were brought up.
One member asked why the road could not be four-lane throughout, with Division Engineer Brian Burch noting that studies between 2017-18 showed that the amount of traffic that flowed through the path simply did not warrant four lanes.
“That’s something that we looked at,” Burch explained. “Anytime we do a project, we have to look at the traffic forecast, generally 20 years out. When we did that, it only warranted two lanes, but because we had issues with the grades, plus big trucks, construction equipment and tourists, we could justify putting in that climbing/passing lane.
“When we looked at moving U.S. 74 to this facility (the road that currently goes through the Nantahala Gorge) and imagining that it ran all the way from Stecoah to Andrews, the forecast still did not warrant a four-lane highway.”
“Nothing says that when this is built, we can’t start lobbying for something else,” added Division 14 Board Member Dirk Cody. “If you never build anything, you never get to move on to the next thing.”
The speed limit was also discussed. Travelers who turn onto N.C. 28 South to enter Stecoah will often reach excessive speed, due to the steep downhill grade the layout presents. The current paperwork available shows that the speed limit will be 50 miles per hour.
“I live on that stretch. The motorcycles do 65, 70 (miles per hour) and if you’ve got that much space, it’s going to be even worse,” one resident predicted.
“We’re going with a design that should help minimize that,” responded Division 14 Project Development Engineer Wanda Austin.
Those in attendance could also peruse eight different maps, pieced together to show the preliminary plans for the project from its eastern terminus in Wolf Creek to its western terminus in Robbinsville. Plans for how Corridor K will proceed once it reaches Robbinsville will be examined at the conclusion of the current project.
Improvements
As of right now, the plan is to begin widening N.C. 28 at Wolf Creek General Store – with a final size of two, 12-foot lanes, tucked between 10-foot shoulders – and passing/climbing lanes alternated throughout the path, which will follow the same route that sees N.C. 28 intersect with N.C. 143. Travelers will then turn onto N.C. 143, follow over Stecoah Gap and Sweetwater Road into Robbinsville.
At the point where the Appalachian Trail crosses N.C. 143, the project will see the installation of a land bridge over the roadway, allowing hikers and wildlife alike to safely cross without fear of being struck by motorists. The land bridge was met positively by those in attendance Tuesday night.
The road will also expand to four lanes at Stecoah Gap, with 12-foot shoulders and a tiered retaining wall that will be planted with foliage.
Also included in the proposal is a walking path that will follow N.C. 28 in Stecoah – with guardrails to separate pedestrians from vehicles – and sidewalks from the Robbinsville High School entrance on N.C. 143 to the intersection with U.S. 129.
All told, nine residences and five businesses will have to re-locate because of the project.
The current, estimated cost of the latest step in the Corridor K project is $130,606,888, with right-of-way acquisitions set to begin on the Robbinsville end of the expansion in Sept. 2021.
Construction is forecasted to begin in Aug. 2022 and should take around three years to complete.
Another public hearing is scheduled for today, 5 p.m. at the Graham County Community Building (196 Knight Street).