Musings from the Mountains

It sure seems that the Waynesville and Maggie Valley area roads are all under construction.  They are repaving at the intersection of Soco Road, and Jonathan Creek Road (Hwy 19 and 276 intersection).  The NCDOT is also changing Jonathan Creek Road, at least the 6 miles between Hwy 19 (Soco Road) and Interstate 40 at exit 20.  I have tried to figure out what they’re doing to the median, but for the life of me, I cannot.  I suppose I must trust the DOT to know what needs doing to make the road more efficient and safer.

In Waynesville, Russ Avenue is still in the midst of a major remake.  The bridge over the railroad tracks at the beginning of Russ Avenue is being replaced, as is the bridge just below that crosses over Richland Creek by Zaxbys Restaurant.  One side of each bridge was demolished and that side is being rebuilt.  It appears the workmen are getting very close to completing the sides that were being rebuilt.  Soon they will open the new side to traffic and demolish the old sides of each bridge.  I believe the expectation is to have them both completed by this Fall. The town of Waynesville also took the opportunity to replace water, sewage and drain lines along Russ Avenue while the bridge construction was underway.

There is also extensive work being done to make the entrance to Hwy 23-74 (The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway) safer for drivers merging into the expressway from Hwy 19. (coming from Maggie Valley) This merge has always been difficult as traffic from Maggie must merge into the expressway from the left.  Most merges are done from the right side of the road.  Hopefully, these changes will make the merge much safer.

Let’s not forget Interstate 40.  Crews are still hard at work trying to repair the road which was washed away by Hurricane Helene.  Currently they do have the interstate open, but near mile 2 in the Pigeon River Gorge, traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction with a speed limit of 35.  This has caused some traffic congestion at times.

That’s not all the road work, but I believe it covers the major ones.  Please let us know if you have any questions about the area.