TIP includes funding for portion of Southern Loop

TIP includes funding for portion of Southern Loop
The Sylva Herald
May 3, 2007

By Lynn Hotaling

Planning has begun on a controversial highway project that triggered widespread opposition almost four years ago.

The Southern Loop, a proposed highway connector that was envisioned to relieve congestion on busy N.C. 107 by linking U.S. 23/74 near Blantons Branch to U.S. 23/441 around Cagle Branch and accessing 107 in the vicinity of Locust Creek, is partially funded in this year’s N.C. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Improvement Plan.

According to Division 14 Engineer Joel Setzer, the $7 million earmarked in the TIP for the Southern Loop project in the year 2013 is for right of way acquisition for the eastern leg of the highway – the U.S. 74/N.C. 107 link.

However, just because funds are allocated doesn’t mean they will be spent, said Setzer, who added that he doesn’t see how planning for a project of the Southern Loop’s scope could be accomplished in less than 10 years.

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Constant traffic on busy N.C. 107, which connects Sylva to Cullowhee, Tuckasegee, Glenville and Cashiers, is one reason N.C. Department of Transportation officials have allocated funding and begun planning for construction of one-half of a proposed Southern Loop. The portion funded in this year’s Transportation Improvement Plan would likely connect U.S. 23/74 near Blantons Branch to N.C. 107 between Lovesfield and Cullowhee. – Herald photo by Nick Breedlove

“Being a funded project gives it priority over unfunded projects, which are also included in the TIP,” Setzer said.

Allocating funds is the NCDOT’s first step in the planning process for a new road, Setzer said. Once a project like the Southern Loop receives funding, planning begins at the state level, he said. Routes will be looked at during this stage and other corridors besides the ones identified in a 2003 feasibility study may be considered, Setzer said.

The 2003 map indicated Blantons Branch to the east and Cagle Branch or Mockingbird Lane on the west as the areas where the new road would intersect U.S. 74 and U.S. 441, respectively. However, that plan listed two options for the N.C. 107 interchange – either Cope Creek or Locust Creek, depending on whether the road started at Cagle Branch (Locust Creek) or Mockingbird Lane (Cope Creek). Plans unveiled in 2003 called for a four-lane divided highway with a 22-foot median.

The Locust Creek proposal seemed to generate the most controversy at that time because it would have routed the new road along the Tuckaseigee River and between two of Jackson County’s oldest churches – Webster Baptist and Webster Methodist.

With regard to questions on the preliminary planning that will be done in Raleigh, Setzer referred The Herald to Teresa Hart of NCDOT’s project development and environmental analysis department. Hart had not returned calls before press time on Wednesday.

Setzer said that while he’s open to the results of whatever traffic and environmental studies are done, he envisions a two-lane road that would perhaps be constructed on a four-lane right of way. In his mind, that new road would have full access control with no driveways.

One objection to the proposed road four years ago was that the development that almost inevitably follows such a project would jeopardize Jackson County’s rural feel. According to Setzer, such total access control would not invite development except at the interchange where the new road joins N.C. 107.

“A road like that could move a lot of traffic safely and quickly,” Setzer said.

It’s not just the current congestion on N.C. 107 that makes such a road necessary; it’s the projections of growth at Western Carolina University and throughout Jackson County, Setzer said. The proposed road could get motorists from U.S. 23/74 to Cullowhee and beyond – and eventually to U.S. 441 – without them having to go through the congestion of the Business 23/N.C. 107 intersection and downtown Sylva, he said.

According to Setzer, the Blantons Branch area still seems the most likely starting point from U.S. 74. However, he said that this time around planners might look at merging with N.C. 107 closer to Cullowhee, possibly through Cane Creek.

“I don’t think we can ignore the traffic growth on N.C. 107 and the anticipated growth in Jackson County,” Setzer said.

During previous Southern Loop discussions, which triggered the formation of a grassroots group, the Smart Roads Coalition, that opposed the planned road, a number of people expressed the opinion that NCDOT should “fix” N.C. 107 through access management or by connecting some of the smaller roads (East Cope Creek to Fairview, for example) to create alternate travel routes.

However, Setzer said he didn’t see that either of those options is viable.

“I don’t think there’s a solution for 107 that wouldn’t wipe out the business community due to a loss of mobility,” he said, adding that a barrier median would require lots of space for U-turns, and that quite a bit of space is required for a round-about.

The 2003 feasibility study for the proposed Southern Loop indicated the plan NCDOT developed was based on a 1993-94 proposal for a Sylva-Dillsboro bypass, which was supported by county commissioners as well as Sylva and Dillsboro officials, Setzer said.

In addition to triggering the formation of the Smart Roads group, the 2003 discussions of the Southern Loop also led to the creation of a countywide transportation task force headed by Beverly Williams of NCDOT’s Raleigh office and rural transportation planner Matt Roark of the Southwestern Commission.

An initial obstacle was Jackson County’s lack of a comprehensive land planning document, which was put in place last year. Despite the eventual existence of that plan, the task force “floundered” Setzer said, due to Williams and Roark taking other jobs.

Jackson County Planning Director Linda Cable confirmed that the transportation group has not met in almost a year and agreed with Setzer that the departure of Williams and Roark has sidelined the group.

As to the fact that a portion of the Southern Loop had received funding, Cable said she was unaware that it had until she was questioned about it.

Susan Leveille of Webster, who was initially the Smart Roads representative on the county transportation task force, also said she didn’t know a portion of the Southern Loop had been funded until she read recent media reports.

“People are upset that it’s back on the table,” she said Tuesday, adding that because she had been unable to attend the few task force meetings that were held, Smart Roads member Jeannette Evans had replaced her.

While Leveille said members of the Smart Roads group are concerned by the Southern Loop’s reappearance, they’re not really surprised.

“We were warned that’s what would happen,” she said.

The next meeting of the Jackson County transportation study task force is scheduled Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m. in the Justice Center’s Jury Assembly Room.