BR residents turn out for Q&A with NCDOT
by Jeff Eason
The population of Blowing Rock in the winter is less than a
third of what it is during the summer. You would not have known that from the turnout Monday at the
Blowing Rock Art and History Museum's Community Room.
The Community Room was filled to capacity as Blowing Rock residents and business owners took the opportunity to meet with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and its subcontractors who will be overseeing the widening of U.S. 321 from Blackberry Road south of Blowing Rock to the Tanger Shoppes on the Parkway.
On hand were about a half dozen representatives of the NCDOT, plus representatives of Sauls Seismic Inc., which will soon be blasting rock for the widening project, and Taylor & Murphy Construction Co. Inc., which is handling the majority of the construction of the new highway. Taylor & Murphy will also be in charge of subcontracting work to other companies for jobs such as the demolition of existing structures that have been purchased by the NCDOT.
At the meeting, attendees had the opportunity to review informational materials, maps of the new highway, view a power point presentation that featured artist's rendering of the finished highway and speak with the representatives.
“What I want to know is, will there be gridlock in downtown Blowing Rock every day when Blowing Rock School lets out,” said town resident John Aldridge. “The school buses, teachers and parents all leave the school from 2:30 to 3:10 (p.m.), and that is already a crowded time downtown. If they are using it as a detour, I can only see gridlock getting much worse and could be a real problem if there was an emergency.”
The NCDOT plans to have two separate detours on the project. When work is being done on the southern half of the four-mile project, drivers will be instructed to take N.C. 18 to Wilkesboro to U.S. 421 north to Boone to U.S. 321 to Blowing Rock.
When work is being done on the northern half of the project, traffic will be detoured down Main Street in Blowing Rock to U.S. 221.
Clearing and demolition work will begin this month and the entire project is slated to last until October 2015.
At Monday's meeting some downtown merchants expressed concern about both traffic gridlock and the possibility that visitors would stop coming to Blowing Rock during the three-plus year-long highway-widening project.
Business owners who have their businesses on Valley Boulevard (U.S. 321) expressed concern about the raised median that will be in the middle of the new four-lane. The median will have a number of openings so that drivers can make left turns and U-turns, but several restaurant owners stated that they are worried that the medians will hurt their business.
Last week, crews from Sauls Seismic toured the Blowing Rock area in the direct vicinity of the 321 project. With a video camera, they recorded the conditions of various homes and businesses on Valley Blvd. for comparison after the upcoming blasting. The documentation is intended to protect both the blasting company and property owners.
The blasting on the 321 project has a stated noise limit of 130 decibels, as recorded at the nearest occupied business or household.
“It is natural for residents and property owners to have concerns and questions about the safety and the potential impacts of blasting,” said Doug Eller, NCDOT assistant resident engineer. “Unlike special-effects scenes in movies showing wild and violent explosions, commercial blasting is very controlled and carefully regulated.”
The Community Room was filled to capacity as Blowing Rock residents and business owners took the opportunity to meet with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and its subcontractors who will be overseeing the widening of U.S. 321 from Blackberry Road south of Blowing Rock to the Tanger Shoppes on the Parkway.
On hand were about a half dozen representatives of the NCDOT, plus representatives of Sauls Seismic Inc., which will soon be blasting rock for the widening project, and Taylor & Murphy Construction Co. Inc., which is handling the majority of the construction of the new highway. Taylor & Murphy will also be in charge of subcontracting work to other companies for jobs such as the demolition of existing structures that have been purchased by the NCDOT.
At the meeting, attendees had the opportunity to review informational materials, maps of the new highway, view a power point presentation that featured artist's rendering of the finished highway and speak with the representatives.
“What I want to know is, will there be gridlock in downtown Blowing Rock every day when Blowing Rock School lets out,” said town resident John Aldridge. “The school buses, teachers and parents all leave the school from 2:30 to 3:10 (p.m.), and that is already a crowded time downtown. If they are using it as a detour, I can only see gridlock getting much worse and could be a real problem if there was an emergency.”
The NCDOT plans to have two separate detours on the project. When work is being done on the southern half of the four-mile project, drivers will be instructed to take N.C. 18 to Wilkesboro to U.S. 421 north to Boone to U.S. 321 to Blowing Rock.
When work is being done on the northern half of the project, traffic will be detoured down Main Street in Blowing Rock to U.S. 221.
Clearing and demolition work will begin this month and the entire project is slated to last until October 2015.
At Monday's meeting some downtown merchants expressed concern about both traffic gridlock and the possibility that visitors would stop coming to Blowing Rock during the three-plus year-long highway-widening project.
Business owners who have their businesses on Valley Boulevard (U.S. 321) expressed concern about the raised median that will be in the middle of the new four-lane. The median will have a number of openings so that drivers can make left turns and U-turns, but several restaurant owners stated that they are worried that the medians will hurt their business.
Last week, crews from Sauls Seismic toured the Blowing Rock area in the direct vicinity of the 321 project. With a video camera, they recorded the conditions of various homes and businesses on Valley Blvd. for comparison after the upcoming blasting. The documentation is intended to protect both the blasting company and property owners.
The blasting on the 321 project has a stated noise limit of 130 decibels, as recorded at the nearest occupied business or household.
“It is natural for residents and property owners to have concerns and questions about the safety and the potential impacts of blasting,” said Doug Eller, NCDOT assistant resident engineer. “Unlike special-effects scenes in movies showing wild and violent explosions, commercial blasting is very controlled and carefully regulated.”