Cowee Mountain Repair Plans Switching to Stone Change to stone from soil allows crews to speed up massive repair on U.S. 441

Photo Credit: NCDOT 

PRESS RELEASE (05-25-2021)
NCDOT

Cowee Mountain Repair Plans Switching to Stone
Change to stone from soil allows crews to speed up massive repair on U.S. 441

DILLSBORO – The slide of U.S. 441 on Cowee Mountain may be stabilized by the end of the year as a contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation changes construction plans.

NCDOT and WNC Paving have recently agreed to change the material stabilizing the embankment above a rock buttress from existing soil to a stone material in order to accelerate completion of the project.

Switching material accelerates the project timeline by allowing crews to work on days during and immediately following a rainstorm instead of waiting for existing soil to dry.

“If it rains, you lose a lot of time,” Division 14 Construction Engineer Mitchell Bishop said. “We still have a few logistics to work out, like an estimated completion date, and we still have to work out a final cost estimate.”

The project will stabilize the hillside, which has been slowly shifting for decades, and will return traffic to its five-lane formation for many years into the future. Traffic on U.S. 441 has been reduced to utilizing one lane in each direction in the construction zone since the fall of 2019.

The first phase of the project included significant drainage repairs and excavating about 18,000 cubic yards of earth material to build a soil-nail wall and maintain traffic in the two-lane pattern.

This second phase is like building one side of a pyramid, by starting with a buttress of large stone at the bottom and working up, now with small stone. It includes adding about 123,000 tons of shot-rock to build the buttress — which is about 50 percent complete — and an additional 105,000 tons of smaller stone to build the embankment.

“The mountain wants to move and we’re keeping it in place to keep drivers safe,” Bishop said. “We ask that drivers remain patient and drive safe through the work zone.”

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

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Cowee Mountain Stabilization Starting Soon Project to provide long-term solution on U.S. 441

PRESS RELEASE
October 2, 2019

SYLVA – A mountain is moving.

The N.C. Department of Transportation has developed designs to adjust for that movement and repair a section of highway on Cowee Mountain in the coming months.

WNC Paving will begin a construction project in the next two weeks that will replace a failing wall and add a rock buttress for extra support on U.S. 23/441 between Franklin and Dillsboro.

“A section in Jackson County settled and shifted after a heavy rain event in February this year, and the road has settled several times since the road was built,” Division 14 Construction Engineer Ted Adams said. “Just like in the past, repairs were made by paving the road back to level. This summer, WNC Paving repaired or replaced much of the drainage.”

Those repairs aren’t enough to sustain the critical highway in the long run. This new construction, at an estimated cost of $13 million, will be much more significant than a paving or drainage project.

Geotechnical engineers from the NCDOT reviewed the location this summer and discovered the wall supporting the roadway had shifted. Such a shift signaled more than a drainage issue.

A complete geotechnical review — including soil borings — revealed the entire slope is moving. If that movement is not addressed, significant weather and simple time could lead to a collapse.

“Over the last two months, NCDOT has finished the analysis and design work to make a permanent fix to the failing wall and slope,” Adams said. “It is absolutely needed.”

Traffic will remain in a one-lane pattern utilizing the southbound lanes, much as it has over the summer, and the construction will last into the spring when good paving conditions return.

The first phase of the project involves excavating about 28 feet of dirt and rock from the two northbound lanes. Then a soil-nail wall will be built to support and stabilize the southbound lanes in use now. Once these steps are complete, the old wall will be removed and a rock buttress will be built to support the northbound lanes.

“We know that this highway is critical for people who live and work in Macon County and Jackson County, and folks who visit,” Adams said. “It is in everybody’s best interest to rebuild this section of road and create a long-lasting highway that will serve for many years to come.”

NCDOT reminds motorists to watch signs for construction information, remain alert, and obey the posted speed limit.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.


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Published at 12:15pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2019

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