The Jackson County transportation task force has spent the past several months signing off on a projected traffic count for the future, namely the year 2035. Until road planners had a projection in front of them, they didn’t know what kind of overage they were dealing with, and whether the problem was a small one or big one.

“One of the driving forces behind any road in the future is the traffic projection for 2035, which is our horizon year right now,” said Ryan White, DOT project coordinator in Raleigh. “If we add no signals, no connecting roads, no bypass, in 2035, how is N.C. 107 going to operate? We have to establish there is truly a problem and that will show there is some type of improvement that is needed.”

White is coordinating the planning process for the Southern Loop, which is on a parallel track to the task force. While the task force brainstorms its solutions, the DOT is engaged in the planning process for the Southern Loop. If and when the Southern Loop is chosen as the best solution, the DOT will have a head start on the otherwise lengthy process of building a major new road.

The congestion projected for 2035 turns out to be only mediocre rather than terrible, according to Ryan Sherby, community transportation coordinator for 10 western counties.

Traffic models pinpointed the main drag of N.C. 107 from Lowe’s to the intersection has more cars than it can handle — about 1,000 to 2,000 too many during peak commuter times. The intersection of N.C. 107 and U.S. 23-74 was flagged as a problem area of its own.

“It pretty much showed what we all expected,” Sherby said.

But there are other areas in the county that will be experiencing traffic congestion by 2035 as well, including part of Main Street and Centennial Drive on the WCU campus.

Southern Loop planning has stalled somewhat in a quest for the best traffic projections. The numbers massaged by the task force were considered more up-to-date than the ones the DOT was using, so they are redoing their models accordingly. When done, White will know not only the volume of cars, but theoretically how they are moving along the road.

“We can see how cars are driving and turning,” White said.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Tom Dowell searches a large topographic map of Jackson County for his home located along Airy Lane. He is one of the many residents whose homes may be in jeopardy if the North Carolina Department of Transportation gets its way and the Southern Loop is built.

Walter Kulash, a private traffic engineer, has been advising the Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance on and off for four years on issues pertaining to the Southern Loop. Kulash specializes in “livable traffic” design and has worked as a consultant on projects all over the country. Kulash will be speaking at a presentation on Jan. 10 hosted by Smart Roads. We asked him for his take whether there’s a fix for N.C. 107 that doesn’t involve the Southern Loop.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Members of Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance are sifting through paperwork at the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division 14 office in Webster to find out how the Southern Loop road project suddenly appeared on the state priority list.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

In their fight to stop progress to the proposed Southern Loop, members of the Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance filed a public records request last week with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to obtain all written material pertaining to the road.

There’s one fundamental reason the Southern Loop needs more discussion before it is considered a done deal — the simple fact that the citizens whose tax dollars pay for roads should, ultimately, decide the transportation future of the community in which they live. So far, the Southern Loop has not officially been endorsed by the leaders who act as the voice for Jackson County’s citizens. It’s that simple.

Jackson County residents opposed to the construction of the Southern Loop — a new major highway that would bisect Jackson County — are gearing up for a fight with the N.C. Department of Transportation to halt the slow but steady gears toward eventual construction.

Jackson County leaders might be lending their tacit endorsement, albeit unintentionally, to the proposed Southern Loop, a controversial highway that would bisect Jackson County.

After a two-year lull, debate over a controversial expressway through Jackson County known as the Southern Loop could soon re-emerge.