WITH RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION TO START NEXT YEAR AND CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN IN 2021
With yard signs posted all along Highway 191 from Mountain Road to the Highway 280 intersection in Mills River opposing the widening of the highway to four lanes,, Mills River Town Council heard NC DOT stand by its plan to widen that stretch of Highway 191 on Tuesday. That planned widening is one of about a half dozen proposed road projects in Henderson County that are currently drawing opposition from citizens.
Brian Burch with NC DOT pointed out the widenint will be necessar5y to accommodate traffic, but DIT is willing to work with the community and home and property owners to make the widening as compatible as possible with wishes of the community.
Plans are to widen the highway from Mountain Road to Boylston Highway, about a mile of which runs through the town of Mills River. The estimated $7.5 million in right-of-way acquisitions are set to begin in June 2019 and the $45 million construction in 2021.
Burch said congestion is projected to worsen along the corridor, growing from the current 12,400 vehicles traveling there each day to 15,700 by 2030 between Banner Farm Road and Highway 280, and 11,900 between Banner Farm and School House roads.
By the 2040 project year, those numbers are forecast to be 17,100 and 13,400 respectively, he said, traffic counts that warrant two travel lanes in each direction.
Town Council had earlier passed a resolution supporting widening the road to three lanes, but NC DOT says that won’t handle projected traffic.
Mills River listened to NC DOT on Tuesday, with the Town Hall packed with concerned citizens, but took no action. NC DOT pointed out this is not just a Mills River projet but a “regional” project, affecting outside the Town’s limits
