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Renovations planned for main intersection |
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Thursday, 20 September 2007 |
by NICK IANNIELLO
News Reporter
If all goes as planned, pedestrians in Boone can look forward to safer conditions during the next school year at the intersection of U.S. Highway 321 and U.S. Highway 105.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is currently working on plans to redo the intersection with better curbs and gutters, better handicap access, and pedestrian signals.
“My hope is that the work will be completed by next summer,” DOT District Engineer Dean Ledbetter said.
The DOT currently has all of the needed funding allotted for this project, and plans to begin construction next summer.
 A student crosses U.S. Highway 321 on his way to campus Tuesday afternoon. Nick Ianniello |
Ledbetter said since the number of students declines during the summer,
the construction would most likely take place during that part of the
year.
This construction is coming not soon enough. On Sept. 12, two pedestrians were hit at that intersection.
The two pedestrians, whose vehicle had run out of gas on U.S. Highway
105, were crossing U.S. Highway 321 to get gas from Appalachian Exxon
at 4 p.m.
Traffic was stopped in two lanes, but northbound traffic had a green light.
Senior advertising major Leiana Henson saw the accident and called 911 immediately.
“It’s extremely dangerous out there,” Henson said.
The two men were trying to run between vehicles just south of the
light, when one of the pedestrians was struck by a 2001 Chevrolet
Cavalier, and rolled up onto the hood of the car and broke the window.
He was taken to the Watauga County Medical Center, and after an airlift to Johnson City, Tenn., is listed in stable condition.
The other pedestrian ran into the driver’s side door of the Cavalier and suffered no injuries.
“The main thing we have to do is watch out for each other,” Boone Police Captain Curtis A. Main said.
According to witness statements, there was no way the driver could have
seen or avoided the pedestrians, and no charges have been filed.
“Regardless of the safety features on the roadway, pedestrians need to look to be sure it’s safe,” Ledbetter said.
Students staying in the Appalachian Panhellenic Hall have been dealing
with traffic conditions since the new residence hall’s renovation.
“Before they got the Pink [AppalCART] Route this year, [residents] used
to have to cross 321 to get to the Panhellenic Hall,” sophomore Alpha
Phi member and APH resident Corey A. Crisafulli said.
The new AppalCART route leaves from Raley Parking Lot and drop students
off at the BB&T parking lot, directly beside the APH.
Despite the new route, APH residents are still faced with the dangers of their proximity to the intersection.
The DOT also plans to refurbish the intersection of U.S. Highway 321
and Rivers Street by adding another left turning lane onto Rivers
Street.
“Right now we’ve got backups coming back farther than we’d like to see them,” Ledbetter said.
This construction could happen much sooner than the main intersection
construction, because it can be done at night without disrupting the
traffic flow.
“[The U.S. Highway 321 and U.S. Highway 105 construction] will take a
little longer because you’re talking about ripping up concrete,”
Ledbetter said.
Crusafilli also hopes Boone will consider other modes of transportation.
“It would be really beneficial for Boone to put in bike lanes,” Crusafilli said.
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