By David Rogers. January 30, 2012. BLOWING ROCK --  How often will the roads be closed, and for how long each time? When finished, will there be a patchwork of fencing along the path of rhe highway as some property owners choose "betterments" and others do not?  How long will the project take? Where do the detours take travelers?

These and other questions will be the focus of a community informational meeting tonight, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum.

The meeting is intended as a project "kickoff", allowing the public to speak with representatives from the NC Departent of Transportation (NCDOT), the contractors and others.

Unable to attend the meeting? That's OK, you can "tweet" the NCDOT via Twitter, using the NCDOT @NCDOT_EastMTN handle and the hashtag, #US321.

The $66.4 million project will widen about four miles of U.S. 321 through Blowing Rock, widening it from two lanes to four lanes from Blackberry Road on the south, to the Shoppes on the Parkway shopping center, near the intersection of U.S. 221 South.

The project has been arbirarily divided into two areas.  Areas, with the U.S 321 Business intersection (@ Broyhill Furniture) the primary separating point.  Area I encompasses the highway segment north to Shoppes on the Parkway.  Area II includes the more residential and rural areas south of U.S. 321 Business, past Blowing Rock Country Club and Green Park Inn and down to Blackberry Road.  According to information received by Blowing Rock News, the contractor may work on both areas simultaneously, but is required to open Area I lanes to traffic first.

The entire project is scheduled to be completed by October 1, 2015.

Comments: