By Nathan Ham
Public officials from the town of Boone and Watauga County will gather on Tuesday, February 19 to talk about possible changes to the original draft of the Highway 105 Superstreet proposal with officials from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The meeting is not open to the public, however it will be used to gather information and present possible changes at a later date.
“What we may be able to change, we will set up a game plan with the NCDOT to get the word out to the public,” said Ward. “This meeting is in response to the initial letters that the town council, county commissioners and others sent.”
Ramie Shaw, the Division 11 Project Team Lead, confirmed the meeting will be taking place and will present possible changes to the town and county officials.
“We’re still looking at the process of the project and have taken the public comments and have some adjustments to the design that we would like to have the town and county look at and get their thoughts on it before we move forward with anything and go back to the public with those alternate plans,” said Shaw on Thursday afternoon.
Shaw said there would be a wait-and-see approach taken to determine if there will be another public meeting after the upcoming meeting with the officials.
In addition to the public comments, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, the Boone Town Council and the Watauga County Commissioners all sent letters to the NCDOT requesting that changes be considered for this superstreet proposal.
When this proposal was first rolled out in the fall of 2018, the NCDOT referenced improving safety and alleviating traffic congestion as the main reasons for why this proposal has been put together for Highway 105. The road design would cut down on left turns across traffic and would instead require drivers to make U-turns at designated “bulb outs” as a way of removing potentially dangerous left-hand turns.
NCDOT Holding Public Meeting on February 21
The NCDOT will also be hosting a public meeting from 4-7 p.m. at the Boone Moose Lodge, located at 607 Deerfield Road, in regards to the proposed improvements along Wilson Ridge Road and Bamboo Road.
Some of these improvements include widening both Wilson Ridge and Bamboo Road, reducing the sharpness of the curves on Wilson Ridge between Ridge Crest Road and Bamboo Road, and adding roundabouts at the Wilson Ridge Road/Deerfield Road, Wilson Ridge Road/Bamboo Road and Bamboo Road/Brook Hollow Road intersections.
NCDOT officials will be on hand for the public to ask questions and take comments on th project.
The public comment period for this project will be open until March 8. Comments can be made by phone, email or mail. For more information on this meeting, visit www.ncdot.gov/news/public-meetings.
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