APRIL 23, 2009 ISSUE
Construction Is Coming—Are We Ready?
Town, Chamber and DOT Discuss Projected 421 Traffic Issues
On Friday, April 17, the Town of Boone and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a private Lunch & Learn to discuss and troubleshoot traffic issues that will result from the Highway 421 widening project and construction of the new Watauga High School over the next two years.
“We all know this project is coming and we all know it’s going to be a real challenge,” said NCDOT Division Engineer Michael Pettyjohn.
The Town of Boone and Boone Chamber organized the meeting, said Boone Chamber President Dan Meyer, to look ahead and see how to handle the impending construction schedule and ensuing traffic congestion that will begin in earnest this July. Meyer said Friday’s gathering was somewhat of a “pre-Lunch & Learn” to collect input from various stakeholders in the High Country before opening the discussion to the general public.
Various stakeholders attended the meeting, including members of the media, Meyer, Pettyjohn, NCDOT Division Engineer Trent Beaver, Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson, AppalCART Director Chris Turner, Boone Public Works Director Blake Brown, Boone Town Council member Lynne Mason, Boone Town Manager Greg Young, Boone Police Chief Bill Post, Watauga County Schools Community Relations Director Marshall Ashcraft, High Country Council of Governments Transportation Planner Craig Hughes, Watauga County Planning and Inspections Director Joe Furman, Boone Police Lieutenant Tom Redmond and ASU Parking and Traffic Director Barry Sauls.
Project Begins This Summer
According to Pettyjohn, the construction contract for the Highway 421 widening project will be let in June and he thinks construction will begin around July 16. Currently, NCDOT and utility crews are using NCDOT funds to clear right-of-ways for the project. North Carolina received roughly $14.6 million from the economic stimulus package for the Highway 421 widening project, according to Pettyjohn, but did not receive funding to pay for work to clear right-of-ways.
Pettyjohn told the group on Friday that NCDOT hopes to widen the portion of Highway 421 between Highway 194 and New Market Drive by August 2010 before the new Watauga High School opens. Pettyjohn said NCDOT will use incentives and disincentives to convince the contractor to finish the first phase of the project on time.
The contractor, said Pettyjohn, will lose financial incentives if they do not complete the first phase of the project by a drop-dead date of August 6, 2010.
Once completed in August 2010, Highway 421 between Highway 194 and New Market Drive in Boone will contain the same amount of lanes but each will be 11-feet wide to accommodate the completion of the widening project. A final layer of new pavement will not be laid until the entire project is completed.
The first phase of the project also includes the realignment of the intersection of Highway 421 and Daniel Boone Drive. Pettyjohn expects that portion of the project to be completed in the first phase of phase one.
Traffic Closures
NCDOT Division Engineer Trent Beaver explained certain NCDOT requirements that the contractor has to abide by during the Highway 421 widening project. Once construction begins, the requirements include:
- The contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic on King Street, Hardin Street, Highway 105, Highway 221 or New Market Drive between 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- The contractor will not work on any state holidays.
- Throughout October’s peak leaf season, the contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic from 6:00 p.m. on the Thursday before any weekend to 7:00 a.m. on the Monday after each weekend.
- For ASU home football games, the contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic for six hours before the start of the game to three hours after the game ends.
- For the first day of school for ASU students, the contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic from 6:00 p.m. on the Thursday before the first day to 7:00 a.m. on the first day.
- For ASU graduation, the contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic from 6:00 p.m. on the day before ASU graduation to 7:00 a.m. on the day after graduation.
- For the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, the contractor will not be able to close any lanes of traffic from 6:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before the event to 7:00 a.m. on the Monday after the event.
Pettyjohn and Beaver also discussed other aspects of the construction.
Pettyjohn and Beaver said that massive retaining walls will have to be built during the Highway 421 widening project to shore up the hill in front of Best Western and Country Inn & Suites. To construct the walls, Pettyjohn said construction crews will have to blast multiple times in five minute increments, probably in the early mornings.
“Due to lane closure restrictions during the day, I anticipate significant work done at night for the project,” said Pettyjohn. “There are no restrictions against working at night—it’s up to the contractor. We can’t dictate when they work, only when they can’t work.”
Feedback
After hearing from the NCDOT engineers, the group discussed concerns and provided feedback on the project.
Watauga County Schools Community Relations Director Marshall Ashcraft requested that the engineers set lane closure requirements for school snow days, and agreed to research the possibility of limiting the amount of high school seniors who are allowed to drive to school in an effort to lessen traffic.
The group discussed establishing park-and-ride locations at Brookshire Park and the new Ted Mackorell Memorial Soccer Complex and ways to encourage carpooling.
Boone Police Lt. Tom Redmond suggested educational seminars for local residents on how best to accommodate the new traffic congestion while the project is completed. NCDOT plans to provide weekly lane closure/construction updates to High Country Press during the project.
The group expressed concerns and possible solutions for traffic congestion on Wilson Ridge Road and Bamboo Road that is expected to increase once the project begins and motorists look for a way around the construction. The group also discussed asking various large-scale employers in Watauga County to adopt flex schedules, which would ease traffic at peak hours.
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