Drivers can expect a traffic slowdown Oct. 1 on I-26 in North Asheville, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced in a Sept. 29 news release.
NCDOT will need to slow traffic in both directions during a half-hour period starting at around 11 a.m.
That’s to allow a blast to remove rock for slope stabilization as part of the I-26 Connector project near Exit 25, where I-26 exits onto Broadway Street and Riverside Drive, near UNCA and the Asheville Botanical Garden.
There will be a “slow roll,” where NCDOT vehicles drive slowly in front of traffic in both directions, towards each other from a distance. That clears a gap in traffic in front of those vehicles and creates a window without any traffic next to the blast, NCDOT spokesperson
Stephanie Johnson told the Citizen Times Sept. 29.
The detonation only takes around 10 seconds, Johnson said, which means that traffic likely won’t come to a complete standstill for any amount of time. "It's super quick," she said.
“Drivers … are encouraged to allow extra time when traveling through the area,” according to the release, however.
More such projects may be coming soon “with some regularity in the coming months,” which might include blasting, according to the release. It said that any blasting would be done between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Those will be near site the Oct. 1 blast, Johnson said. Work schedules may be adjusted based on weather.
“Hopefully the weather cooperates,” Johnson said.
Find real-time updates and more information at DriveNC.gov.
George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Blasting along I-26 in North Asheville to 'slow roll' traffic Oct. 1
