NCDOT 75% plan for N. Highland Lake Road

Interested in seeing the most recent plan for the N. Highland Lake Road project? Check out the NCDOT 75% plan, which was released in June.

CLG PAC

This November 5 is election day for three (out of six) Village of Flat Rock council seats plus the mayoral seat. This election will affect the direction of our village — and CLG believes that working to identify and support local candidates for the Flat Rock village council and other local elected positions who appreciate our...

Free North Carolina transportation map

Time to get an updated highway map of North Carolina? The 2019-20 North Carolina state highway map is now available free of charge. The map is funded and produced by the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and is distributed by VisitNC, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. To order a map online,...

T-N editorial: Roundabouts are here to stay

From today's Times-News: . . . It’s time for motorists to get used to traffic circles. DOT is planning more than 30 of them across Western North Carolina over the next five years, at interstate ramps, offset intersections, highway interchanges and other locations. . .

T-N: 7 top road projects identified for Henderson County

From today's Times-News: County transportation officials Wednesday came up with their wish list of future road projects they would like the state to fund. . .The following projects, in no particular order, are listed as follows: Modernization of Duncan Hill Road, Signal Hill Road and Thompson Street from U.S. 64 to N. Main Street in...

T-N letter to the editor: Taking our land

Taking our land To the editor: Don’t take our land. My husband and I bought property on Old Hendersonville Highway in Pisgah Forest 20 years ago. Included was a railroad on which a train would go by every few days but which has not been used for many years. Friends of the Ecusta Trail is...

T-N: Pisgah Forest entrance: Roundabouts slated for 2021 to ease congestion

Can a trio of roundabouts reduce the amount of brake lights that illuminate the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest on a busy day? The N.C. Department of Transportation is moving forward with a plan to install two dual-lane roundabouts near the forest, along with another nearby roundabout currently under construction. The plan calls for...

Hendersonville Lightning: Politics heats up in once tranquil Flat Rock

“I would say if you listen to what the council members were saying, none of those figures [on park costs or NCDOT renumeration] were final figures,” [Anne Coletta, CLG president] said. “The most precise figure they seemed to have was the 20 percent match for the sidewalk but even that figure from what they said...

NCDOT to lay off hundreds of workers, as storms, lawsuits sap its budget

From The (Charlotte) News & Observer: The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to lay off hundreds of temporary and contractual workers statewide to help cover the costs of repairing roads damaged by hurricanes and other harsh weather and to settle lawsuits related to a 30-year-old law that was declared unconstitutional. . . The move is...

T-N: Dethero to run for Flat Rock Village Council seat

Longtime Flat Rock resident David Dethero is seeking a seat on the Village Council this year, running on a platform of fiscal conservatism and accessibility. Dethero has filed for the District 3 seat held by Councilman John Dockendorf, who did not file for re-election. Hilton Swing has also filed for the seat. Dethero has been...

T-N editorial: Trail funding is a breakthrough

From today's Times-News editorial page: “When Chuck McGrady called several weeks ago and informed us of this potential funding source, we just had to jump on it and do all we could to make it happen,” said Chris Burns, board member for the advocacy group Friends of the Ecusta Trail. Trail advocates got to work,...

T-N letter to the editor: The Ecusta trail

The Ecusta Trail To the editor: While driving to Brevard one day this summer, I noticed two men on road bikes riding on Highway 64 toward Hendersonville. They were biking up a hill in heavy traffic on both sides, struggling to stay on the very edge of the highway, changing gears, and literally trying to keep...

T-N: Coletta to challenge Brown for District 2 seat

Former Flat Rock Village Council member Anne Coletta, an outspoken opponent of the North Highland Lake Road project, is running for a seat again to improve transparency, fiscal responsibility and keep the village’s historic nature intact. . .

T-N: Road work, sign ordinance prompt Carpenter’s run for Flat Rock council

. . . As the church’s main liaison to the community, [Tom] Carpenter has been an outspoken about the N.C. Department of Transportation’s plan to improve North Highland Lake Road. Carpenter is against the taking of private property against the wishes of legal owners that is neither needed nor wanted, saying it is morally wrong...

T-N: Group gets $6.4 million to fund potential purchase of Ecusta Trail

Conserving Carolina has been awarded a $6.4 million grant for the purchase of the rail corridor known as the TR Line, or Proposed Ecusta Trail. “This is a very big next step for the Ecusta Trail,” said N.C. Rep.Chuck McGrady. “There is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of processes...

Council decision on potential road projects

At today's monthly council meeting, the Flat Rock village council decided that they would not support promoting either of the two potential road projects in the village at this time. This means that W. Blue Ridge Road and Erkwood Drive likely will not make the final list of seven potential road projects (out of 24)...

T-N editorial: New designs can ease traffic

Hendersonville City Council is looking for ways to improve traffic flow without building new roads. It’s a smart idea. Council approved a list of six recommended road improvement projects around town. The goal is to create a loop using existing roads that can serve as a bypass now that the proposed Balfour Parkway is dead....

August newsletter from State Sen. Chuck Edwards

Check out the latest from Raleigh

T-N editorial: I-26 project is years overdue

. . . The Buncombe County project promises years of traffic headaches on a section that’s often clogged to a standstill. But what about the section in Henderson County? DOT’s news release says it plans to receive bids this fall to widen the 13.6-mile stretch. That is a big improvement from two years ago, when...