Comments Sought on Macon County Highway Safety improvements to reduce major crashes

SYLVA – The N.C. Department of Transportation is hosting a public meeting to gather comments on a proposed project to increase safety and reduce crashes on U.S. 441/Georgia Road in Franklin.

The proposed project would upgrade 2.8 miles of the Macon County highway between Belden Circle/Wide Horizon Drive and Prentiss Bridge Road to a four-lane highway with a median. The proposed project would also increase safety by creating 11-foot wide lanes, bicycle lanes on both sides, and directional cross-overs to reduce the possibility of head-on and T-bone crashes.

This stretch of U.S. 441, which is also known as Georgia Road, has a crash rate 131 percent higher than the state average for similar highways, and a fatal crash rate nearly four times greater than the state average.

The meeting will be held from 4-7 p.m. April 16 at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building, 1288 Georgia Road in Franklin.

At the meeting, project team members will be available to discuss the concepts, answer questions and receive feedback. They will be able to demonstrate the benefits of a directional crossover, which funnels left-turns from most side streets into safer right turns and then U-turns to head in the desired direction.

Maps and additional information will be posted on the NCDOT website as it becomes available. All comments will be considered as the project plans develop and should be submitted by April 30.

Contact NCDOT Assistant Design Construction Engineer Kenneth McDowell at kjmcdowell@ncdot.gov, 828-488-2131 or 345 Toot Hollow Road, Bryson City, NC 28713 to submit comments or for additional information.

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tony Gallagher at magallagher@ncdot.gov or 919-707-6069 as early as possible, so arrangements can be made.

Persons who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.