Care about what new roads should be built or which existing ones should be widened or redesigned? Or perhaps the bigger question when it comes to some of the region’s controversial roads, which ones should be nixed?

Here’s your chance to be heard: A public hearing on road building priorities in the six far western counties will be held 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, at the Chestnut Tree Inn, 37 Tsalagi Road, in Cherokee.

The hearing will help determine which roads land a spot on a bigger to-do list: A Top 25 for the entire 10-county division of the state Department of Transportation. These projects, in turn, eventually vie for funding statewide.

The list is likely to figure heavily in whether the Southern Loop moves forward. The Southern Loop would be a new major highway bisecting Jackson County with the intention of diverting traffic from N.C. 107.

At 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, the Technical Coordinating Committee, comprised of local government staff, meets at Southwestern Community College in Franklin. The road-list public hearing takes place before a Transportation Advisory Committee, made up of elected regional leaders. Both meetings are open to the public.

828.586.1962 ext 212, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..