By Nathan Ham
You will not have to drive far anywhere around Boone to encounter some form of ongoing road work.
One of the most recent projects underway is on King Street where the North Carolina Department of Transportation has started the work to widen and lengthen the left turning lane on King Street at the intersection with College Street, according to NCDOT Division 11 Engineer Mike Pettyjohn.
For those that drive through the area, there is limited space for a couple of passenger vehicles to wait to turn left onto College Street. However, behind them, the lane is only wide enough for one vehicle traveling west on King Street. The lengthened turning lane will allow for more vehicles to be in the left lane without impeding drivers that want to travel further on King Street and will also make it easier on AppalCart busses to be able to turn left without having to hold up traffic behind them.
The turning lane should help alleviate the traffic concerns that come from vehicles getting backed up behind drivers attempting to turn onto College Street to access the library parking deck and for AppalCarts that are turning into that area to pick up and drop off students. A new turn signal with a green turn arrow phase will also be added as part of the project.
According to the NCDOT project page, the turn lane construction began on August 5 and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2020.
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