Blowing Rock infrastructure is getting some much-needed upgrades! Main water and sewer lines are being replaced along Main Street in the downtown core now through Spring 2024.
Key Takeaways:
- Access to businesses and activities on Main Street will remain open.
- Expect single-lane closures and potential travel/traffic delays.
- One full closure of Main Street is required in a residential section.
- Construction activity will be limited to Mon-Thurs when possible.
About the Project:
According to the contractor’s project page, “the existing and new water and sewer lines are located within the roadway. In order to complete replacement of these lines, the pavement on Main Street will be removed within the trench area. With the majority of this work occurring within the paved roadway, traffic control is required, and travel will be reduced to one lane during construction.” These single-lane closures will be controlled with automated flagging devices with barrier arms. While every effort will be made to reduce traffic impacts, some delays should be expected when driving through all downtown areas.
Main Street Closure Details:
One full closure of Main Street is required north of Chetola Resort. This closure will not prevent access to any businesses, but visitors to Chetola Resort, McCoy Minerals, and other north Main locations will need to access those places from the south end of Main Street. That simply means that downtown visitors, including school traffic, will need to access Main Street via Sunset Drive. This full closure of north Main Street from Chetola out to the US Highway 321 intersection will be active Monday mornings through Thursday evenings from February 12 through at least mid-April 2024. The road will be opened Friday mornings through the weekends. This closure is for 18-inch sewer line replacement. See area marked in red on full map below.
Downtown Core Construction Work:
Currently, sewer installation continues on Main Street between Chestnut Drive and Morris Street, along the parking spaces on the east side of Main Street. Sewer installation will progress north on the east side of Main Street toward US Hwy 221. Single-lane closures and lane shifts will be necessary during this construction.
Sidewalk access for pedestrians will remain open throughout the project. Fridays of each work week will be reserved for clean-up (unless work days are lost through the week), with both traffic lanes and on-street parking reopening for each weekend.
Starting in mid-March, water line installation will begin on the other side of Main Street, following the same method. This work will begin at Ginny Stevens Lane and continue north on Main Street through downtown. The west side of Main Street parking and the south bound lane will be utilized for water installation. Single-lane closures and lane shifts will be necessary during this construction as well. See this area marked in yellow on full map below.
Additional Details:
For information about additional parking areas off of Main Street, click here.
Entire water and sewer project completion date is September 10, 2024. Please note that all dates listed are approximate and the timing of all construction activity is weather-dependent.
More information about the project is available on the project website.
