OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTENDED 4 TO 7 PM TUESDAY AT CASCADE MOUNTAIN RESORT
PROPOSED TO CONNECT HIGHWAYS 64 AND 191 NORTH OF HENDERSONVILLE
SET FOR CONSTRUCTION IN 2027
ESTIMATED COST $158 MILLION
CROWDS LINED UP OUTSIDE EARLY
Tuesday's public meeting came early in the process. An actual public hearing on the proposed project won't happen until the fall of 2019. Many of those in attendance late Tuesday had major concerns about the project, from losing their homes and property to potential property value impacts and whether the road was needed. The NCDOT says the parkway could pull anywhere from 7,300 to 29,400 vehicles from other routes once completed.
The N.C. Department of Transportation held that public meeting Tuesday on its plans to build the four-lane highway and new Interstate 26 interchange connecting U.S. 64 East with U.S. 25 and N.C. 191.
Citizens were invited to attend, along with the many property owners who could be directly impacted by the proposed “Balfour Parkway.” project
The open house meeting was set for 4 to 7 p.m. at Cascades Mountain Resort, 201 Sugarloaf Road. DOT representatives presented information on possible alternative routes, discussws the project, answerws questions and took comments.
Proposed as a four-lane, median-divided road with limited access, the Balfour Parkway is billed as providing a new east-west connection that will route truck traffic away from downtown. Several alternatives are being considered within 1,000-foot-wide corridors, although the actual right-of-way is expected to be 250 feet.
“The large corridors allow room to refine each design concept in an effort to further avoid or minimize potential impacts within the corridor,” according to DOT.
The road, projected to cost almost $158 million, is slated for construction in 2027, with right-of-way acquisition in 2022. edia reports say the time frame is perhaps the reason it has not yet attracted the public’s attention as much as other projects, such as one to widen and install traffic circles on U.S. 64 West or to widen Kanuga Road. But it will potentially affect many more property owners than those other projects, which is why residents should attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Plans for the project have been refined significantly since December 2016 when we urged residents to get involved early in the process. A “draft design concepts map” shows two main routes, a northern one shaded in orange and a southern one shaded in green.
One concept route would run from U.S. 64 East near Chestnut Hills across Fruitland Road and north of Apple Valley Middle School, crossing Zeb Corn, North Clear Creek and Howard Gap roads, I-26, Grimesdale and U.S. 25 and running through Cimarron Forest next to the Historic Johnson Farm to connect with N.C. 191 south of Rugby Middle School. A modified “concept 1A” marked in yellow would connect with U.S. 64 just west of Fruitland Road and south of North Henderson High School.
Another route would run from U.S 64 East at St. Mary’s Chapel (which lies squarely in the route) across and along Clear Creek, crossing I-26 south of the Vulcan Materials Quarry and running through several neighborhoods to connect with N.C. 191 at Carriage Park.
There are three potential interchange locations on I-26 and four on U.S. 25 as well as several variations of the main concepts. Stamped repeatedly with the words “Draft — Subject to Change,” the map is a case where a picture is worth thousands of words.
DOT officials were facing questions from many residents whose homes, businesses, and property are shown within potential routes.
