NCDOT hosts open house tomorrow at the Arboretum to discuss changes to I-26/Brevard Road interchang­e

A public meeting will be held tomorrow, Feb. 25, from 4-7 p.m., at the North Carolina Arboretum to discuss the upcoming proposed changes to the Interstate 26/Brevard Road interchange. Though no formal presentation will be given at the meeting, maps will be on display, and NCDOT staff will be on site to answer questions and receive comments on the new design.

NCDOT plans public meeting for proposed modificati­on of I-26/Brevard Road interchang­e

A public meeting will be held Feb. 25, from 4-7 p.m., at the North Carolina Arboretum to discuss the upcoming proposed changes to the Interstate 26/Brevard Road interchange. Though no formal presentation will be given at the meeting, maps will be on display, and NCDOT staff will be on site to answer questions and receive comments on the new design.

Federal trucking safety rules aren’t being enforced, says Jackie Novak

On Oct. 24 last year, an 18-wheeler driven by Rouman Velkov plowed into a line of nine cars on I-26. Jackie Novak lost her son that night, who was in one of those cars. “Jackie Novak’s case is unusual in that it asks the FMCSA to better enforce its own rules and, as an afterthought, [asks it] for money,” writes a trucking-accident attorney.

Banding together

The Burton Street neighborhood has changed a lot since DeWayne Barton was a boy. “All this used to be a wooded area,” he says, motioning toward a line of houses adjoining the neighborhood’s community garden. “The whole place used to be like a little forest. I remember, growing up, I would play out here, only […]

I-26 constructi­on delayed a year; Design Center says it was shut out of decision

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has decided to push back construction of the Interstate 26 connector by one year—until 2014—the agency announced April 15. The DOT wants to further study the highway’s impacts on the area and try to reduce one of the project’s most controversial features: its effect on the Burton Street neighborhood. […]

I-26 constructi­on delayed for a year; design center shut out of decision

The North Carolina Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced its decision to delay the construction of the long-awaited I-26 connector project one year — until 2014 — to further study impacts in the area. NCDOT will also include the locally developed Alternative 4b in its studies and try to reduce one of the project’s most controversial features — its impact on the Burton Street neighborhood. However, the Asheville Design Center, who developed 4b, say that NCDOT shut them out of the decision.

Burton Street residents urged to continue activism

At a March 9 forum on the controversial Interstate 26 connector, Mayor Terry Bellamy, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair David Gantt and representatives of local groups urged residents of the Burton Street neighborhood to keep fighting and petition state officials to spare damage to their neighborhood. Hey, neighbor: Vivian Conley, a resident of the […]

Design center partners with Burton Street, WNC Alliance on I-26 forum

The Asheville Design Center, the Burton Street Neighborhood Association and the WNC Alliance are organizing a March 9 neighborhood tour and forum concerning the four competing designs for the controversial Interstate 26 connector. “Folks in the Burton Street community, because there’s such an impact on their neighborhood, had wanted to know more about the various […]

Putting a name on the I-26 debate

There has been no shortage of stances in the I-26 connector debate. Resolutions have been passed, endorsements made. Buncombe County and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce have supported the option known as Alternative 3. Asheville City Council and several community groups and developers have backed the Asheville Design Center-initiated Alternative 4b. (See Xpress ongoing […]

Considerin­g the alternativ­es

The Asheville Design Center (ADC), which has been involved voluntarily with the work on the I-26 project since 2006, anticipates that the N.C. Department of Transportation will vote soon to include Alternate 4b in their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). When this happens, we will have better data available to plan and communicate changes that will […]