By David Rogers. December 20, 2011. BLOWING ROCK -- It is listed simply enough on the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) website: "R-2237C".  Behind those otherwise unobtrusive digits is an historical firestorm of controverrsy in Blowing Rock, and it just got more "real" on Tuesday when the NCDOT announced the award of a $66.4 million contract to Asheville's Taylor & Murphy Construction Co., Inc.

The roughly four-mile stretch of U.S. 321 through Blowing Rock completes the connector route from I-40 in Hickory to U.S. 421 in Boone. It completes a plan that was envisioned by the administration of then Governor Jim Hunt, some 30 years ago.

Who's Getting the Work

Taylor & Murphy Construction was founded in 1941. Today it is a general contracting firm specializing in site preparation, heavy highway and bridge construction, civil structural aspects of industrial construction, retaining wall construction, and railroad construction. According to the company website (www.taylorandmurphy.com), Taylor & Murphy have approximately 300 employees on projects ranging from $100,000 to $80 million, and is licensed with an unclassified and unlimited capacity in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia.  According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Taylor & Murphy also offers commercial grading, golf course construction, and industrial concrete work services, as well as storm drain, water, and sewage system construction services.

While the winning Asheville-based contractor received a 1998 award as "Best General Contractor" Pinnacle Award from the Carolinas AGC (a construction industry association and sub-unit of Associated General Contractors of America), and a more recent 2005 "Best Heavy-Highway Project" Pinnacle Award from the same group for its construction of Liberty Bridge on the Reedy River in Greenville, South Carolina, the company's history has not been without controversy.

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice brought anti-trust litigation against Taylor & Murphy relating to a Blue Ridge Parkway project in Buncombe County.  According to court documents (Criminal Docket for Case #:1:02-cr-00083-LHT-1), the case did not go to court after U.S. District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg accepted a guilty plea from Taylor & Murphy on one felony count. The disposition was a $400 assessment ad a $200,000 fine.  The associated plea agreement indicates that an employee of Taylor & Murphy disclosed to a competitor (unnamed) line item prices of the company's bid for the Parkway project with the full knowledge of a Taylor & Murphy officer.  Subsequently, the officer signed a Certificate of Independent Price Determination, even though he knew of the employee's disclosure, so was accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of making a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation.  The judgment is dated September 12, 2002. In accepting the plea and judgment, the U.S. agreed not to bring further criminal charges against Taylor & Murphy for any violations relating to making false statements associated with the Parkway project.

Other than that one instance of alleged wrongdoing, Blowing Rock News researchers could find no other reported instances.

Impact on Blowing Rock

In the project's Final Environmental Impact Statement published in 2006, the NCDOT listed five specific "areas of controversy" related to the proposed project:

1. The appropriateness of placing a four-lane road through a historic district and a resort community (Blowing Rock), given the disruption caused by the construction period and the permanent community and visual change associated with a four-lane road.
2. The approopriateness of leaving increasing through-traffic volumes on a widened U.S. 321 in Blowing Rock, particularly since traffic could grow to the point where a bypass around Blowing Rock would be needed anyway.
3. The appropriateness of the presence of a four-lane thoroughfare anywhere within the Town of Blowing Rock.
4. The appropriateness of placing a four-lane bypass through a rural and natural environment, given that there is an improvable existing road that serves the same traffic.
5. The appropriateness of placing a new thoroughfare within the viewshed of a valued view from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The decision of the NCDOT to improve the "...existing road that serves the same traffic" was almost a foregone conclusion, in spite of the protests of a vocal segment of Blowing Rock's residents and businesses.  So now, after delays caused by consideration of the above areas of controversy and alternatives, as well as the right of way acquisition phase, Blowing Rock will soon (2012) feel the full impact of the project.

According to Monday's press release from the NCDOT about the contract award, U.S. 321 will be widened from two to four lanes from Blackberry Road (State Road 1500) south of Blowing Rock to the Shoppes on the Parkway shopping center near its intersection with U.S. 221. Improvements include additional through lanes, turning lanes and new lighting at selected locations, new retaining walls and increasing sight distances by straightening curves.

The project will be divided into two areas. Area I is the more commercial area north of the U.S. 321 Business intersection toward Boone. Area II is the more rural/residential area south of the U.S. 321 Business intersection toward Lenoir. The contractor will be allowed to work in both areas during the project. They are required to open all lanes to traffic in Area I first.

During construction, the contractor will be allowed to close sections of U.S. 321 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for blasting. In addition, the contractor will be allowed to close either Monday or Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for blasting.

According to statements made by NCDOT spokesmen at the Monday, November 14, meeting of The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock attended by Blowing Rock News, the project is due for completion in 2015.

Detours

1. Area I: U.S. 321 Business through Blowing Rock to U.S. 221.
2. Area II: N.C. 18 to Wilkesboro to U.S. 421 North to Boone to U.S. 321 to Blowing Rock.

There will be public information efforts once the project begins. These efforts will include project updates via the NCDOT website (www.ncdot.gov), traditional media and social media.

Part of a Bigger Picture

This is one of 14 contracts totaling $101.7 million awarded by NCDOT Secretary Gene Conti for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina. NCDOT awarded the contracts to the lowest bidders, as required by state law. The bids received on the projects awarded came in about 6.3 percent, or about $6 million, above NCDOT estimates.

Research of the U.S. 321 ("R-2237C") project through Blowing Rock by Blowing Rock News lists the NCDOT estimate for the project at $50.4 million, so the $66.4 million award to Taylor & Murphy (the lowest bidder), is almost 32% higher.  Calls to the NCDOT and Taylor & Murphy were not returned in time for this story.

Since Governor Bev Perduee took office in January of 2009, the NDCOT has awarded 441 highway contracts totaling $3.5 billion.

For real-time travel information at any time, readers may dial "511" or visit the NC Travelor Information System website (http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/default.aspx).

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