DECEMBER 10, 2009 ISSUE
NCDOT Extends Highway 321 Closure
Highway Could Be Closed Until Next Wednesday
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) officials said on Wednesday, December 9, that Highway 321 south of Blowing Rock could be closed until the middle of next week as crews work to stabilize a section of mountainous terrain that is causing rockslide fears.
“It looks like it could be more like Monday [December 14] to Wednesday [December 16] before [Highway 321] is open,” said Ed Treadaway, NCDOT assistant resident engineer, on Wednesday.
NCDOT closed down Highway 321 between Kirby Mountain Road and Waterfalls Road on Monday, December 7, to remove boulders that were loosened during blasting on December 3. Originally, NCDOT officials believed the road would reopen on Thursday, December 10, but on Wednesday changed their estimated reopening date to the middle of next week.
Motorists can choose between two detours to get around the closure, or, if coming from or going to Charlotte, can take Interstate 77 to Highway 421, or vice versa.
The shortest detour is to take a roughly three-mile route that utilizes Waterfalls Road and Kirby Mountain Road. From Blowing Rock, motorists travel roughly six miles south of The Green Park Inn and then take a right on Waterfalls Road. Motorists then follow the narrow, curvy and unmarked Waterfalls Road until the pavement ends. Once the pavement ends, motorists will travel an additional 0.5 miles on an unpaved road until they reach Nelson’s Chapel Baptist Church. At the church, motorists take a left onto Kirby Mountain Road and travel 0.05 miles back to Highway 321. The detour is estimated to take 10 to 15 minutes and, according to Treadaway, is not recommended because the road is “rough as a cob.” Treadaway said the detour utilizes too rough a road for NCDOT to recommend it to travelers, but that it is available to locals making the trip between Lenoir and Blowing Rock. The detour is not meant for trucks or large vehicles.
Reverse the above detour if coming from Lenoir.
The longer detour utilizes highways, is recommended by NCDOT and is safer, but takes considerably longer than the Waterfalls Road/Kirby Mountain Road detour. From Lenoir, motorists can follow Highway 18 into Wilkes County until it intersects with Highway 421 North. Motorists can then take Highway 421 North to Boone, turn left on Highway 105 Extension and then turn left onto Highway 321 South.
To check if Highway 321 is open next week, Treadaway said to call the NCDOT resident engineer at 828-265-5088 or click to www.ncdot.gov/traffictravel.
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