January 29, 2009 Issue
DOT Wants Locals To Select Preferred Route for Daniel Boone Parkway
The N.C. Department of Transportation needs to know the local preferred route for the proposed Daniel Boone Parkway in the coming months, officials told Boone and Watauga County officials on Monday.
After an environmental study, a DOT project team has narrowed the possible routes for the bypass to four alternatives for further study. The DOT wants local officials to select a preferred alternative for inclusion in the DOT’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) for Watauga County—a long-range plan that officials hope to complete by late spring or early summer.
Cooper Sellers, a transportation engineer for the DOT’s Transportation Planning Branch, said that it is important for projects to be included in the CTP in order to receive funding through the state’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The Daniel Boone Parkway is not currently funded.
The proposal is to reroute U.S. 421 away from King Street to a new bypass—the Daniel Boone Parkway—to alleviate worsening traffic congestion along King Street and in downtown Boone. The controversial bypass proposal has been included in local long-range transportation plans since the 1970s, but DOT did not begin to study the proposal until the mid-1990s. After a preliminary review by DOT and study by a local task force, the DOT began a detailed study of all suggested alternatives in 2002. A citizen’s informational workshop was held in 2004, where several citizens expressed opposition to the bypass or specific routes for reasons including environmental impacts and neighborhood preservation.
On Monday, DOT officials presented information on the Daniel Boone Parkway study to an intergovernmental meeting of elected officials and staff from Boone, Watauga County, Blowing Rock, Seven Devils and ASU.
All four selected corridors extend from U.S. 421 west of Boone around the N.C. 105 Bypass, intersect U.S. 321/221 south of N.C. 105 and end at U.S. 421 east of Boone. The proposed bypass is a four-lane, median-divided roadway with no at-grade intersections or driveway openings and interchanges at major highways only. The four corridors are as follows:
• Corridor 1 extends from U.S. 421/321 east of SR 1107 (N.C. 105 Bypass) on new road and then utilizes part of the existing SR 1107. It continues on new road, intersecting U.S. 321/221 south of N.C. 105 and ending at U.S. 421/221 east of Boone in the vicinity of the western intersection with U.S. 421/221 and Old U.S. 421.
• Corridor 2 uses existing SR 1107 from U.S. 421/321 west of Boone to N.C. 105. It continues on new road, intersecting U.S. 321/221 in the vicinity of SR 1522 (Deerfield Rd) and ending at U.S. 421/221 east of Boone (similar location to the end of Corridor 1).
• Corridor 3 extends from U.S. 421/321 west of SR 1107 on new road, intersecting N.C. 105 west of SR 1107. It continues on new road, intersecting U.S. 321/221 in the vicinity of SR 1543 (Jordan V. Cook Rd) and ending at U.S. 421/221 east of the intersection of U.S. 421 and Old U.S. 421.
• Corridor 4 follows Corridor 2 from U.S. 421/321 west of Boone to the interchange on U.S. 321/221. Then Corridor 4 deviates from Corridor 2, extending further south as it continues east of U.S. 321/221 and ending at U.S. 421/221 east of Boone in the vicinity of the eastern intersection with U.S. 421/221 and Old U.S. 421.
Boone Town Councilmember Janet Pepin asked if local governments were restricted to the four corridors identified by DOT in choosing their preferred alternative. Alena Cook, staff engineer for the Transportation Planning Branch, said that local officials can recommend alternatives or combinations other than what DOT presented.
In late October, the Lawrence Group, an architectural, design and town planning firm, facilitated a weeklong charrette to help Boone citizens and officials develop the 2030 Land Use Master Plan for Boone. Its closing presentation included a proposal that rejects all four of the DOT’s proposed routes for the Daniel Boone Parkway. Instead, the Lawrence Group proposal is to use existing roadways for the first leg of the bypass by improving and straightening sections of Bamboo Road and Wilson Ridge Road down to the hospital. Then, a new stretch of roadway would connect U.S. 321 from the Deerfield Road intersection to N.C. 105 via a road that would run behind the current high school and connect with N.C. 105 near the high school stoplight.
Another attendee at the Monday meeting asked if the bypass had to have four lanes. Cook said that DOT’s analysis shows the need for four lanes to adequately handle the area’s traffic needs.
During his presentation, Sellers suggested that Boone and Watauga County officials discuss the alternatives at their upcoming board retreats and contact the DOT in March about how to proceed.
To read the DOT’s full report of the Pre-TIP study for the Daniel Boone Parkway, click to www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/planning/DanielBooneStudy.html.
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