After many months of wrangling, alternative 4b—the locally produced design for the bridge planned as part of the Interstate 26 connector—is in the running for final adoption by the N.C. Department of Transportation, several sources say. But in its current form, the plan only faintly resembles the one originally submitted by the Asheville Design Center, […]
Tag: I-26
Showing 64-84 of 88 results
Malfunction junction goes high-tech
Does your road-rage quotient rise around construction sites? Have you long harbored smoldering anger at Asheville’s renowned “malfunction junction,” aka the approach routes to the interchange for Interstates 26 and 40? Are you baffled and perplexed by the construction going on there now? Life in the fast lane: Schedules and updates on the I-16/I-40 approach […]
Asheville City Council
Despite numerous alleged incidents of serious police misconduct over the past couple of years, Asheville City Council members voted Jan. 15 against creating an official citizen-oversight board. Conceding that it is a “bit of a complex topic,” police Chief William Hogan nonetheless lobbied against the idea, citing several existing layers of police oversight and reiterating […]
DOT drops an I-26 Connector alternative
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has revised the project alternatives for the I-26 Connector project in Asheville, eliminating one option.
Shuler working on Interstate 26/40 issues
Rep. Heath Shuler says he has spoken with Rep. James Obersater (D-MN), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, regarding the highway needs facing Western North Carolina, especially I-26 and I-40.
Asheville City Council
The Asheville City Council put an end to the battle over balconies on a downtown renovation project, ordering staff to draw up a stricter process for approving future sales of the city’s air rights. But local activist Elaine Lite, a City Council candidate who brought the issue into the spotlight by bidding for air rights […]
Asheville’s bridges to the future?
Self-described “presentation monkey” and city planner Joe Minicozzi offered members of the public a glimpse of the Asheville Design Center’s latest ideas for an I-26/I-240 bridge during an informal seminar July 9. Two dozen people attended the first showing of Minicozzi’s latest presentation, held at Pack Memorial Library’s Lord Auditorium, on how other cities have […]
Asheville’s bridge to the future?
Self-described “presentation monkey” and city planner Joe Minicozzi offered members of the public a glimpse of the Asheville Design Center’s latest ideas for an I-26/I-240 bridge in an informal seminar Monday night.
Asheville City Council
Despite a less-than-encouraging response by the state Department of Transportation, Asheville is continuing to explore a locally developed plan for the I-26 connector. The big idea: This map, prepared by city staff, illustrates just how large an incorporated Leicester would be. Representatives from the DOT, the Federal Highway Administration and several engineering consulting firms weighed […]
NC DOT gets a local earful on I-26 Connector
On June 11, N.C. Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett visited the Asheville Design Center to hear a presentation of ADC’s alternative plan for the I-26 Connector.
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners preview
Buncombe commissioners will almost certainly approve county-wide zoning at their meeting this Tuesday, May 1.
Six lanes or eight
In response to a request from the Asheville City Council last month, the state Department of Transportation has agreed to conduct one more traffic study — beginning immediately — to estimate future traffic volume along the I-26 Connector. “We are in the process of working on that,” confirmed DOT Traffic Engineer Kevin Lacy. Calibration of […]
Eight too many? Six too few?
A pair of upcoming meetings may spark a flare-up in the long-simmering controversy over the planned restructuring of Interstate 240, Interstate 26 and the Smokey Park Bridge. Few local civic issues have aroused more heated debate. Area residents have banded together in support of one or another of several proposals; local politicians have staked out […]
The political history of I-26
The story of how Tennessee waltzed North Carolina into committing a quarter of a billion dollars to upgrade U.S. Highway 23 in Western North Carolina reveals how piecemeal highway construction and special-interest politics shape transportation priorities.
I-26 by the numbers
The new leg of Interstate 26 through Madison County is the fruit of a massive undertaking. Consider these statistics: Length: nine miles Number of lanes: six Original cost estimate (1988): $50-$60 million* Final cost: $230 million Percent paid by the federal government: 80* Cost of welcome center/rest area $6.1 million Construction time: seven years Tons […]
Learning from I-26
[Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the February 1992 edition of Green Line, the monthly predecessor of Mountain Xpress.] If I-26 is any indication, highway boosters are far more organized than proponents of alternative transportation, who usually react too late. Starting in 1987, I-26 boosters in WNC had a two-year head start on opponents […]
DOT pushes an eight-lane 240 again
“I think what people are going to ask for is: ‘No eight lanes.’” — Betty Lawrence, member of I-26 Connector Awareness Group. Eight lanes or nothing. That’s the essence of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s recommendations for widening Interstate 240 through West Asheville, as part of the Interstate 26 Connector. But a grassroots community group […]
Asheville City Council
“I’ve had a big smile on my face since I got my hands on this report,” revealed Mayor Leni Sitnik, beaming like a proud parent, at Council’s Sept. 12 formal session. The smile was the result of reading the much-anticipated Report of the Community Coordinating Committee for the Design of the I-26 Connector through Asheville. […]
Marching orders?
The people have spoken. And now that the I-26 Community Design Forum has come and gone, this question remains: What will the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration do with what they’ve heard? An estimated 450 folks filed through the doors of the Renaissance Hotel ballroom during the design forum, bounceing […]
Searching for consensus
It’s time to put up or shut up. The powers that be are coming to the table on the I-26 Connnector project, for what is likely the last chance for the community to end its hand-wringing over the controversial highway. The much-talked-about design forum is scheduled for July 21-22 at Asheville’s Renaissance Hotel; its aim […]
Asheville City Council
With the Interstate-26 Connector design forum looming on the near horizon, Asheville City Council took a last opportunity to thank those agencies that plan to participate, and to urge the N.C. Department of Transportation to consider all the possibilities emerging from the forum. At their July 11 meeting — a short and sweet one, with […]