By Nathan Ham
It has been a summer full of area roadwork projects in the High Country with one more yet to come and the announcement of another major project starting in 2024.
Earlier in the summer, the portion of Highway 105 from the Highway 421 Intersection down to the Blowing Rock Road intersection was resurfaced.
Now, Maymead is expecting to complete the remaining part of the Highway 105 paving project starting sometime in mid-August, according to North Carolina Department of Transportation Division 11 Engineer, Mike Pettyjohn.
Similar to how the earlier Highway 105 resurfacing went, the work on this project will be done at night. According to Pettyjohn, the project has restrictions that do not permit lane closures from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 6 a.m. Friday to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Paving is also still underway on the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 421 as drivers leave Boone.
Another larger project was announced recently by the NCDOT. U.S. Highway 421/321 from the intersection of those two roads in Vilas to the Highway 105 Bypass will be expanding to four lanes. According to Pettyjohn, the environmental study process has just started with a road design to follow soon after.
“Right of Way is scheduled to begin in June 2022 and construction in June 2024,” said Pettyjohn. “There will be public meetings for input when we get to that point.”
The project has an estimated price tag of $58.4 million and will cover just over 3.5 miles.