The environmental group MountainTrue is weighing in on several proposed highway projects in western North Carolina, including some in Cherokee County the group favors, but one that gets a “hard no.”
MountainTrue advocates resilient forests, clean waters and healthy communities in the Southern Blue Ridge region. It has offices in Murphy, Asheville, Saluda and Boone.
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The N.C. Department of Transportation is seeking input as they prioritize road projects for the next 10 years. It created an interactive map of proposed projects throughout the state and is seeking feedback from the public.
“This is our best opportunity to influence the process and call for needed improvements like sidewalks, greenways and bike lanes, while also speaking out against further highway expansions that are bad for our environment,” the group said in a release.
It is urging the public to take its recommendations and use this interactive project map “to tell DOT which projects you think they should prioritize and which ones you think they should not pursue.”
MountainTrue opposes the widening U.S. 64 between Peachtree in Cherokee County and Hayesville in Clay County. The DOT proposed widening the mostly two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway between the communities.
“This will destroy our rural character and is completely unnecessary,” Susan Bean, Housing & Transportation director at MountainTrue, said in a release. “Making it three-lane in places to allow for passing, maybe, but not four-lane.”
MountainTrue has thrown its support to several other projects in Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties:
- SR 1307 (Tusquittee Road, Clay County): Modernize roadway to standard lane and shoulder widths with sidewalk to Ritter Road and Greenway to the Hiwassee River.
"This one is straight out of the ‘Hayesville Moves Pedestrian & Bicycle Plan.’ ” according to MountainTrue.
- SR 1363 (Texana Road, Cherokee County): Sidewalks.
- SR 1127 (Snowbird Road, Graham County): Modernize roadway to standard lane and shoulder widths with sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
MountainTrue did not take a stand on a U.S. 129 widening project between Topton and Robbinsville that is part of the Corridor K initiative that started in 1965. It also had nothing to say about modernizing Joe Brown Highway, N.C. 141 in Marble and Peachtree, and N.C. 294 in Hiwassee Dam;
Other projects in the western region MountainTrue is supporting include:
- U.S. 441 Between Whittier and Cherokee (Jackson County): Upgrade the roadway from a five-lane to a four-lane divided facility. Include bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
- SR 1364 (Fontana Drive, Swain County): Construct a pedestrian side-path connecting the high school to downtown.
Details: The map can be viewed online at live.metroquestsurvey.com/?u=oq8i8y#!/?p=web&pm=dynamic.