“It goes without saying that the protests were unprecedented in the city and for law enforcement officers nationwide,” said Asheville Police Chief David Zack. “Never before had APD encountered a protest where the emotional intensity was directed solely at the police.”
When the DOT finally decided on a design for Section B of the Connector project in 2015, many stakeholders thought they saw light at the end of a very long tunnel. Other residents, however, see serious flaws in Alternative 4B, questioning whether the project’s long-term benefits will justify the sacrifices their neighborhoods must make to see it completed.
A North Carolina Department of Transportation engineer told a group of independent businesses owners Friday, Jan. 10, that upcoming hearings could lead to construction on Asheville’s Interstate 26 connector project starting in 2020.
At around 1 p.m., an Asheville Police Department car went off the Jeff Bowen Bridge and onto Riverside Drive below. Later that afternoon, APD Chief William Anderson announced that the crash killed Senior Officer Rob Bingaman. The State Highway Patrol is investigating the wreck, and police officials said it’s still too early to know many details about the crash.
Capt. Jeff Bowen’s widow and mother unveil the sign at a ceremony to rename the Smokey Park Bridge in honor of her husband, who died in a Biltmore Avenue fire last year.
