From the Mountain Xpress:
by Brian Postelle on 03/11/2010
The Asheville Design Center recently met with the N.C. Department of Transportation to discuss progress on the I-26 connector. The group emerged with news on the status of the alternative 4B it championed for the project. Among those revelations is a shortened, less expensive bridge and the news that noise studies indicates 4B will be quieter than other plans.
The report from the ADC is below:
ADC volunteers, neighborhood residents, concerned citizens and city officials collaborate with NCDOT Engineers to refine the design of Alternative 4b that now only runs under Patton Avenue. The resulting revisions to the proposed alternative shorten the elevated highway over existing 19/23 and provide a possible link from a Montford Greenway to the proposed Wilma Dykeman Riverway. The improvements to the design reduce the highway’s impact on the Montford Community while reducing the cost of construction.
Asheville, NC March 10, 2010 – Concerned citizens working with members of the I-26 Technical Review Committee (I-26 TRC) that represent the City of Asheville, Buncombe County and the Asheville Design Center, recently met with NCDOT Engineers to discuss the feasibility of further improvements they had proposed in October 2009 for the design of the I-26 connector, Alternative 4b.
This Alternative was recently developed with input from the community as an urban response to the important highway link that crosses the French Broad River at Asheville’s western gateway.
The significant items discussed in the meeting by the TRC that are important to advocates of 4b include:
• Provide a design that allows Patton Avenue to serve as a multi-modal (automobile, pedestrian, bike and mass transit) connection to West Asheville
• Redesign the I-240 connecting ramp along Hill Street in Montford to save five houses.
• Minimize noise impacts on the Montford community
• Reducing the length of the elevated highway over 19/23 along Riverside Drive
• Provide direct access from the Hillcrest community to the proposed Patton Boulevard.
• Improved Aesthetics for the design of the French Broad River Bridge and elevated portions of the highway.
To read more about this development, go to: Mountain Xpress article on Asheville Design Center.
