The N.C. Department of Transportation has planned three dates for “letting” – or the reception of bids for a project – along the Corridor K expansion, with the first phase starting Tuesday,
Aug. 16.
In documents obtained by The Graham Star, the three-step plan for the much-discussed improvement begins to become clearer.
Drainage, grading, paving and signals will be needed for the first 6-mile phase, which will commence near Five Points Road and follow U.S. 129 North (Rodney Orr Bypass) to the intersection of N.C. 143 East (Sweetwater Road). From there, the phase will continue down N.C. 143 to Beech Creek Road. The preliminary estimate for this portion is $29 million.
DOT communications officer David Uchiyama speculated that construction on the first section could begin as early as late September and noted that bids for the initial stage have already been advertised.
“The construction of each section of Corridor K will be advertised for potential contractors to submit bids for the proposed work,” Uchiyama said. “The contractor with the lowest bid will be awarded a contract to construct that section of the project.”
Phase two will continue from Beech Creek Road on N.C. 143 to 0.5 miles north of the Appalachian Trail at Stecoah Gap and will carry the heftiest price tag – $60 million. Letting for the second stage of the project will begin Tuesday, Sept. 20.
The segment will be 3.911 miles and including drainage, grading and paving, as well as the installation of a land bridge – estimated to cost $5 million alone – over the highway, to allow Appalachian Trail wildlife and hikers alike the opportunity to cross over the road without traffic interference.
The bridge is a compromise offered after several trail advocates expressed concerns about how the expansion would affect foot traffic, as the current plan is to widen the roadway to four lanes at the gap.
From there, the final expansion will continue down N.C. 143 to its intersection with N.C. 28, before passing south through Stecoah and concluding at Gunter Gap Road – just before N.C. 28 opens up into a four lane at Wolf Creek General Store. This phase is estimated to cost $32.9 million and runs 5.4 miles. Letting for the last segment of the expansion begins Tuesday, Oct. 18.
“Corridor K” is actually the working title for a long-planned project.
First included as part of a 13-state improvement plan by the Appalachian Development Highway System in 1965, “Corridor K” was assigned to expanded roadways from Interstate 75 in Cleveland, Tenn., to Dillsboro. Much of the project has already came to fruition – as four-lane access is readily available on U.S. 74 from Waynesville to just outside the Nantahala Gorge in Almond.
Four-lane expansion from the point where N.C. 28 branches off from U.S. 74 continues to Wolf Creek Store, but the project stalled in the 1990s after opposition from environmental advocates about plans to tunnel through mountains near Stecoah.
Interest in finishing the project was resurrected by the DOT’s Division 14 engineers in 2015. A 2019 report in the Cherokee Scout noted that while the expansion would not fulfill the original vision of navigating through Tatham Gap to rejoin the four-lane U.S. 74, plans were moving forward.
Division 14 officials landed on an alternate plan for the Graham County improvements and held two separate public hearings for feedback on the alterations in October 2020. Instead of a four-lane expansion throughout the county, officials have now forecasted alternating three-lane segments, to allow more vehicles to pass slower traffic on the steep grades across N.C. 143.
Lanes will be widened to 12 feet in Stecoah – with adjoining 10-foot shoulders – and the road will expand to four lanes at Stecoah Gap, where the land bridge will reach over the roadway. A tiered retaining wall will also be placed at the gap.
Sidewalks will be installed from the Robbinsville High School entrance to the intersection of N.C. 143 with U.S. 129. All told, nine residences and five businesses will have to relocate because of the project.
The totality of the expansion is projected to cost $130,606,888 and is funded. From there, improvements to Andrews in Cherokee County are unfunded and still unclear on how they will proceed.