|
We
urge the N.C. Department of Transportation to honor Asheville City
Council’s request to build the Interstate 26 Connector in accordance
with a design proposed by the Asheville Design Center and modified by
Figg Engineers.
Council voted 6-1 Tuesday in favor of a
resolution that urges DOT to strongly consider the design for the
long-delayed connector. The vote followed the presentation of a report
from Figg, the firm the city hired to evaluate the Design Center’s
proposal.
The project is intended to connect sections of
Interstate 26 south and north of the city and includes a new bridge
over the river.
The report council received Tuesday said that the
design, as revised by Figg, appears to accomplish the Design Center’s
original goals. The only goal that could not be met was the
double-decker design for the new bridge. The Figg revision provides for
side-by-side bridges.
The Design Center, a nonprofit planning and
architecture group, put forward in 2006 an alternative design to the
options for the connector presented by DOT. Buncombe County and the
City of Asheville partnered to pay for the independent review by Figg
after the DOT raised engineering concerns about the Design Center
proposal. DOT has indicated it will take two months to review the Figg
report.
Less expense, intrusion
The Design Center plan
takes up less land and would cost as much as $150 million less to
construct, according to its proponents.
That’s a significant amount of the $363.4 million the state plan is expected to cost in today’s dollars.
The
Design Center proposal has the added advantage of removing interstate
and through-traffic from Smoky Park Bridge so that it can be turned
into an urban boulevard connecting West Asheville to downtown.
Besides
the savings in cost, the savings in land would provide an opportunity
for development and could add significantly to the city’s tax base.
The
Design Center was created with a $15,000 grant to the Asheville section
of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The Asheville architects
had applied for an AIA “Blueprint for America – AIA 150” grant for a
project titled “Bridging the French Broad: Creating Connected Livable
Communities.”
Local input gathered
The Design Center
involved the Asheville community in a discussion of how principles for
livable communities could be incorporated into the design for the
connector.
The design that emerged modifies one of the four DOT alternatives but it features a more compact footprint.
It
would require laying down about half the amount of asphalt as the DOT
plans. It would also require far less right-of-way acquisition than the
238 to 273 acres called for in various DOT designs.
One goal the
double-decker bridge proposed in the Design Center plan was to provide
Asheville with a distinctive “signature” bridge that would be an
attraction in itself.
Even though a double-decker bridge may
not be an option, that doesn’t rule out the prospect of building a
unique, one-of-a-kind bridge that will be an enhancement to the city
landscape.
This project will be the most significant public works
project in Asheville in a generation. It will influence the city’s
development and city residents’ quality of life for at least the next
50 years.
Far-reaching impacts
We have to get it right.
Like
the DOT options, the Design Center’s proposal would create an efficient
corridor for moving interstate traffic through the city. Unlike the DOT
options, the Design Center’s plan would save taxpayers money, provide
more land for development and contribute to a more vibrant, livable
city.
The Figg report should remove any engineering concerns the state has and clear the way for moving forward with all due haste.
|
