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NCDOT: No Further Blasting Along U.S. 321 in Blowing Rock Until Jan. 3; Traffic Can Travel with No Detours

By Paul T. Choate

The rock below Cliff Dwellers being blasted. Photo by Ken Ketchie
The rock below Cliff Dwellers being blasted. Photo by Ken Ketchie

Dec. 18, 2012. Starting on Tuesday, Nov. 27, road construction crews began blasting operations at Cliff Dwellers Inn at Westview Drive near the intersection of U.S. 321 and U.S. 221/U.S. 321 Business. The section of U.S. 321 was scheduled to be closed every Tuesday and Thursday, but the NCDOT is now saying no further blasting will take place until Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. 

NCDOT Communications Officer Jerry Higgins said the cease in blasting operations includes today.

“There may be occasional lane closures through this Thursday but all traffic can travel along the work zone without detours,” Higgins said. “Weather will dictate any work schedule on the project.”

The speed limit along U.S. 321 remains 35 miles per hour. The N.C. State Highway Patrol continues to monitor this corridor for speeding violations.

The N.C. Department of Transportation reminds all motorists to drive slowly using caution in work zones. When lane closures are in effect, remember to watch for flaggers standing near the roadway and be prepared to stop.

Call the project hotline at (828) 964-3260 to speak to an NCDOT representative during regular weekday business hours (8 a.m. until 5 p.m.). The hotline will not be available on Thursday, Nov. 22 and Friday, Nov. 23. The hotline will reopen on Monday, Nov. 26.

For more information or updates on the U.S. 321 road widening project, visit the project website. Follow project progress on the website or via Twitter (see @NCDOT_EastMTN and #US321). You also can view photos on the project’s Flickr pages and blasting videos on the project’s YouTube page.

For real-time travel information on this project at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.