NCDOT is holding a hearing on Tuesday September 16th, 2008 at 7pm at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, One Thomas Wolfe Plaza, downtown. It is very important for as many people as possible to come to this meeting and comment on the design options and the number of lanes that DOT will study. The Asheville Design Center (ADC) has been working on an alternative design known as 4B. The I-26 Connector Awareness Group supports this design and encourages everyone to voice their support for 4B to be included in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). We are also encouraging everyone to tell DOT that Asheville wants other lane options to be included in the EIS. Currently, DOT is only considering studying 8 lanes, despite traffic studies that indicate less lanes could work through West Asheville....

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and URS, their engineering contractor, sent an important newsletter during the holiday season. It asks for citizen input regarding the purpose and need statement for the Connector project. THE DEADLINE FOR RESPONDING IS JANUARY 15, 2008.

The purpose and need statement will be used to compare and evaluate the alternatives being considered for the I-26 Connector. For example, the purpose, as now written, calls for substantially reducing the volume of traffic on the Smoky Park Bridges. Simply reducing the volume will not address the problems caused by the mix of local and interstate traffic. That purpose statement could be rewritten to call for separating local and interstate traffic on the bridges.


It is super important that you respond to NCDOT's invitation to comment.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A 470-page report that probes the inner workings of the state Department of Transportation said the agency lacks a vision, lags in productivity and doesn't adequately prioritize and fund projects.

Joel Burgess-ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES
August 7, 2007 12:15a.m.

Asheville – Costs for the bridge portion of the Interstate 26 connector have quadrupled since the project’s inception, and the completion date has been pushed back by more than five years.

ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES
July 1, 2007
Citizen-Times Viewpoint/Editorial

Local leaders ought to view with a large dose of skepticism the assessment by Department of Transportation officials that an alternative Interstate 26 route across the French Broad River has too many design flaws and should not be pursued.