U-4020 (3)

Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Project Review Form
Project Number: 08-0099 County: Watauga
Due Date: 10/22/2007
Date Received: 09/27/2007
Project Description: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave..) to US 321
(Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP No. U-4020
This Proiect is being reviewed as indicated below:
Regional Office Regional Office Area In-House Review
Asheville Air Soil & Water Marine Fisheries
Fayetteville Water Coastal Management
Mooresville Aquifer Protection Wildlife Water Resources
Environmental Health
Raleigh Land Quality Engineer f Wildlife - DOT Solid Waste Mgmt
Washington
Forest Resources Radiation Protection
Wilmington Land Resources
Other
Winston-Salem Parks & Recreation
Water Quality
V Water Quality - DOT
Air Quality
Manager Sign-Off/Region: Date: In-House Reviewer/Agency:
Response (check all applicable)
No objection to project as proposed.
Insufficient information to complete review
No Comment
Other (specify or attach comments)
If you have any questions, please contact:
Melba McGee, Environmental Coordinator at [e-mail]
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US 421 (King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road)to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Project No. NHF-421(31)
WBS Element 35015.1.1
T.I.P. PROJECT U-4020
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Finding of No Significant Impact
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
AND
N. C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS
Submitted Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)
APPROVED:
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,, regory J. Th e, Ph". D., Environmental Management Director
`-'Project Development and Environmental Anal ys' Branch
John F. Sullivan III, P. E., Division Ad 'nistrator
"?" ederal Highway Administration
US 421 (King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road)to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Project No. NHF-421(31)
WBS Element 35015.1.1
T.I.P. PROJECT U-4020
Finding of No Significant Impact
September 2007
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PROJECT COMMITMENTS
1. TYPE OF ACTION ....................................................................... 1
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION ............................. 1
A. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................i
B. RECOMMENDED CROSS SECTION ................................................................................................... i
C. RIGHT OF WAY ............................................................................................................................. 2
D. ESTIMATE PROJECT COST ............................................................................................................. 2
III. SUMMARY OF BENEFICIAL AND ADVERSE IMPACTS .............. 2
A. BENEFICIAL IMPACTS ................................................................................................................... 2
B. ADVERSE IMPACTS ....................................................................................................................... 3
IV. COORDINATION AND COMMENTS ...........................................5
A. CIRCULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT .................................................................. 5
B. COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ................................................... 6
i. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ...........................................................6
C. PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENTS ............................................................................................... 6
i. Public Hearing ..................................................................................................................6
2. Summary of Written Comments ..................................................................................... 8
V. REVISION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT .............10
VI. BASIS FOR FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ................11
APPENDIX
A. FIGURES
B. CORRESPONDENCE
C. RELOCATION REPORT
D. PUBLIC HEARING CERTIFICATION
PROJECT COMMITMENTS
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
US 421 (King Street)
From NC 194 (Jefferson Avenue) to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Watauga County
Federal Aid Project NHF-421(31)
State Project No. 8.17516or
T.I.P. No. U-4020
Project Develoumenlt & Environmental Analysis - Natural Environment
Unit
It is anticipated?that a US Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 14 and
Nationwide Permit 33 will be applicable.
A permit pursuant to Section 26a of the TVA Act is required for the construction of this
project.
A section 401 General Water Quality Certification will be required by the North Carolina
Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (DEHNR) for activities
resulting in discharge into any of the streams involved with this project.
Roadway Design Unit
The outside lanes in each direction along US 421 (King Street) will be widened to 14 feet.
to accommodate bicycle traffic'
Sidewalks will be added to both sides-of US 421 (King Street) within the project study
corridor. The amount of cost sharing will be coordinated between NCDOT and the
Town of Boone.
Location and Surveys Branch
Two geodetic survey markers may be impacted by this project. NCDOT will
coordination with the NC Geodetic Survey prior to the start of construction.
Hydraulics Unit and Construction Unit
;NCDOT's Best Management Practices for Protection of Surface Waters (March 1997)
will be adhered to on this project.
Stormwater runoff will not be directly discharged into existing stream channels.
Finding of No Significant Impact, U-4020 Page 10f 2
September 2007
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Finding of No Significant Impact, U74020 Page 20f 2
September 2007

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US 421 (King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road) to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Aid Project NHF-421(31)
State Project 8.17516oi
WBS Element 35015.1.1
TIP No. U-4020
1. TYPE OF ACTION
This is a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administrative action,
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the FHWA have
determined this project will not have any significant impact on the human and natural
environments. This FONSI is based on the November 2oo6 Environmental Assessment,
which has been independently evaluated by the FHWA and determined to adequately
and accurately discuss the environmental issues, providing sufficient evidence and
analysis for determining that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. The
FHWA takes full responsibility for the accuracy, scope, and content of the Environmental
Assessment.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION
A. General Description
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) propose to widen US 421(King Street) to a multi-lane
facility from east of NC 194 (Jefferson Road) to US 321 (Hardin Street) in Boone,
Watauga County (see figure 1). The project is approximately 1.155 miles in length. The
proposed improvements will widen US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane divided facility
with a variable width raised median (see figures 2A and 2B). The project also proposes
to improve the intersections of US 421 with Grove Street, NC 194 (Jefferson Rd), New
Market Blvd, US 221/NC 105 Extension, and US 321 (Hardin Street). The existing right
of way along the project corridor ranges from 40 feet to 6o feet wide.
The proposed project is included in NCDOT's approved 2007-2013
Transportation Improvement Program (T.I.P.). Right of Way acquisition is scheduled to
begin in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2oo8 and construction is scheduled to begin in FFY
2009. The preliminary construction and right-of-way costs for the NCDOT-preferred
alternative, which involves widening US 421 (King Street) to a four to six-lane divided
curb and gutter section, is $11,200,ooo and $32,029;8oo, respectively.
B. Recommended Cross Section
Based on information from comprehensive studies of the natural and human
environment, engineering evaluations, and comments from all interested groups,
NCDOT recommends widening US 421 (King Street) to a six-lane divided facility from
Grove Street to US 221/NC 105. From US 221/NC 105 to US 321 (Hardin Street), US
421 will consist of a four-lane divided facility (see figure 3). The improvements include
constructing 12400t wide inside travel lanes and 14-foot wide outside lanes to
accommodate bicycles. The project also proposes to construct 5400t wide sidewalks
along both sides of the facility. Opposite direction travel lanes are separated by a
continuous 4400t wide concrete median. The median will maintain a 3o-foot width
between the double left-turn lanes at US 321 and US 221/NC 105 because there is not
enough distance to reduce its width significantly.
The majority of the widening will occur along the south side of US 421. The
decision to widening along the south side was based off of several factors. A number of
churches are located along the north side of US 421. Also, impacts to the BellSouth
telecommunications facility would have resulted in a significant increase in the project
cost.
C. Right of Way
From US 221/NC 105 to US 321, the current right of way extends 20 feet from the
centerline on each side of US 421 (King Street). From NC 194 to US 221/NC 105, the
right of way extends approximately 30 feet from the centerline of US 421.
From NC 194 to US 221 / NC 105, the proposed right of way is approximately 148
feet wide. Of the 148 feet, approximately 73 additional feet will be acquired along the
south side due to the current widening plan. From US 221/NC 105 to US 321 the
proposed right of way width is approximately 115 feet. Along this section, the vast
majority of the improvements are along the south side of the project as well, resulting in
an additional 70 feet of right of way from the south side.
The proposed improvements will also result in the need for additional right of
way and temporary easements along roads intersecting US 421. In addition to the
permanent right of way to be acquired, the proposed improvements will also result in
temporary easements along both sides of US 421 to allow for the project's construction.
D. Estimate Project Cost.
Estimated construction and right-of-way costs for the NCDOT-preferred
alternative are $11,200,ooo and $32,029,8oo respectively. The total project cost is
$43,229,800.
III. SUMMARY OF BENEFICIAL AND ADVERSE IMPACTS
A. Beneficial Impacts
The proposed'improvements will result in improved mobility along the project
study corridor. The construction of additional lanes along US 421 (King Street) will
increase the traffic carrying capacity of the facility. The additional lanes (turn lanes
included) at the signalized intersections will result in a decrease in the delay experienced
at these intersections. The combination of the increased traffic carrying capacity and
reduction of intersection delay will result in a decrease of the considerable congestion
that King Street currently experiences. The project also proposes a raised concrete
median between intersections within the project corridor. The raised median will
require drivers to make a U-turn to access businesses and residences on the opposite
side of the facility on which the are currently traveling. By limiting all left turn
movements to the signalized intersections, impacts to traffic flow by vehicles crossing
opposing traffic will be limited. The proposed raised median will also provided added
safety benefits. The raised median will reduce the accident potential by limiting contact
by opposite direction traffic. The raised median will also act as a refuge for pedestrians
attempting to cross King Street.
The proposed improvements will improve mobility and accessibility for both
pedestrians and bicyclists. The project proposes to construct sidewalks along the
southside of US 421. This will result in sidewalks along both sides of the facility.
Currently, pedestrian facilities are limited to the northside of US 421. The project also
proposes to construct 14400t wide outside lanes to accommodate bicycles. These
additions will make the facility more pedestrian and bicycle friendly compared to the
existing conditions.
B. Adverse Impacts
The preferred alternative proposes to widen US 421 (King Street) along the south
side of the existing facility. This will necessitate the acquisition of the majority of all
properties abutting the southside of US 421 between Grove Street (immediately east of
NC 194) and US 321 (Hardin Street). Many of the businesses within the project study
area cater to students attending Appalachian State University. Businesses patronized by
students of the adjacent university may find it difficult to find a location to relocate to
that will provide the students with the same convenience and accessibility. Many of
these businesses also cater to travelers heading through Boone along US 421. Finding a
location that will continue to allow these businesses to attract through travelers may be
difficult
The preferred alternative includes a raised concrete median that will result in
changes in access for the adjacent properties and intersecting streets within the project
corridor. Access to businesses along the project corridor will be limited to right-in, right-
out only movements. Vehicles attempting to reach businesses or residences on the
opposite side of the street from which they are traveling will be forced to make a U-turn
movement. U-turn movements and left-turns will only be allowed at one of the five
signalized intersections within the project corridor.
However, case studies from the document "Economics Impacts of Access
Management" state,
¦ The majority of businesses report no change in business activity following
a median project.
¦ Destination type businesses, such as restaurants and stores, appear less
sensitive to access changes than businesses that rely on passer-by traffic.
¦ Because the likelihood of left-turns into a business declines as opposing
traffic volumes increase, medians or other access changes will have less
effect on the frequency of left turns into businesses on high volume
roadways during peak travel periods.
SUMMARIZING IMPACTS
RESOURCE ALTERNATIVE 2
(4 to 6 -lane Divided Facility)
NCDOT-Preferred
Archaeological o
Architectural
District/Properties 0/0
Total Stream Impacts ioo feet
Jurisdictional Wetland o.o acres
Endangered Species
Community
Terrestrial Community
Impacts o acres
Hazardous Material Sites
(Potential/Verified)
26/6
Noise Receptors 20
Prime Farmland o acres
Section 40) Impacts o
Schools* 2
Churches** 1
EJ Communities*** 1
Air Quality No
Residential Relocations ***
(Owners / Tenants)
1/65
Business Relocations*
(Owners / Tenants)
9/21
Critical Water Supplies No
Total Cost $43,22 ,800
* New Watauga County High School scheduled to begin construction Spring 2008.
* Hardin Park Elementary School located 1/8 mile north of project corridor on NC 194 but will not be
directly impacted by the project.
** Grace Lutheran Church is located at the western project limit. No property will be acquired from the
church.
*** See section V "Revisions and Updates to Environmental Assessment"
TYPE OF IMPACT IAMOUNTOFIMPACT
Air Quality The project is not anticipated to create any
adverse effects.
There are seven Federally Protected
Endangered Species Species for Watauga County but the project
area will effect none.
Hazardous Material Sites There are twenty-six hazardous material
sites but only six verified USTs/ASTs.
Low-income individuals were identified
Environmental Justice Issues along the southside of the project corridor.
Additional public outreach measures were
implemented to insure involvement.
Noise Receptors A total of 20 receptors are located within
the project study area.
There is one church and currently one
Churches/Schools school (i proposed) within the project area
but one will be directly impacted.
Jurisdictional Streams loo linear feet impacted for the project.
Section io6/4f Properties 0/0-
There is a total of 66 residential
Displacements displacements and 31 business
displacements (including tenants).
IV. COORDINATION AND COMMENTS
A. Circulation of the Environmental Assessment
The Environmental Assessment (EA) was approved by the North Carolina
Department of Transportation, Division of Highways on November y, 2oo6, and by the
Federal Highway Administration on November 16, 2oo6. Copies of the approved EA
were provided to the North Carolina Department of Administration - State
Clearinghouse.
The approved EA was circulated to the following federal, state, and local agencies
for review and comment. An asterisk (*) indicates a response was received from that
agency.
Appalachian Regional Commission
US Department of the Army Corps of Engineers
US Environmental Protection Agency
US Fish and Wildlife Service
US Geological Survey
Tennessee Valley Authority
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources*
NC Division of Water Quality*
NC Wildlife Resources Commission*
NC Department of Administration (State Clearinghouse)
NC Department of Cultural Resources
Town of Boone (Chris A. Carter, City Manager)*
High Country Council of Governments
Watauga County Board of Commissioners*
NCDOT conducted a Citizen's Informational Workshop (CIW) on November 18,
2004. There were 44 citizens in attendance at the workshop. The majority voiced
support for the proposed improvements to US 421 (King Street). Handouts provided at
the workshop included a comment sheet, so written comments could be received.
Following circulation of the Environmental Assessment, a public hearing was
held at the Broyhill Inn at Appalachian State University on March 13, 2007.
Approximately loo people attended the hearing and 12 citizens spoke for the record. The
hearing was not controversial in nature and there were no requests for major design
revisions. The majority of the citizens felt that the project was necessary and agreed or
had no negative comments regarding the proposed design.
B. Comments Received on the Environmental Assessment
Written comments on the Environmental Assessment were received from several
agencies. The following are excerpts of the substantive comments with responses in
Italics, where appropriate:
1. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Comment: "Hardin Creek is classified as C+; we understand the "+" to
indicate specially designated waters, such as Outstanding Resource
Waters, occur downstream. Boone Creek, Class C Trout+, is also in the
project area but not expected to be impacted. Trout are known from the
Boone vicinity, including the South Fork New River that Hardin Creek
flows to about one mile downstream. Hardin Creek may support trout, as
trout have been noted from other small-urbanized streams in the vicinity,
and a moratorium may be recommended.
Downstream of the project the South Fork New River is also inhabited by
the Kanawha Minnow (Phenacobius teretulus), Federal Species of
Concern (FSC) and Special Concern (SC) Kanawha darter (Etheostoma
kanawae), state Significantly Rare, sharpnose darter (Percina
oxyrhynchus), state SC; cutlips minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua), state
Endangered (E); seep medulia (Leptoxis dilatata), state SC.
Response: Best management practices will be utilized during the
widening of the road to prevent the accumulation of sediment in the
streams. This is a project commitment.
C. Public Hearing and Comments
1. Public Hearing
Following circulation of the Environmental Assessment, a public hearing was
held at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Appalachian State University's
campus in Boone, NC on March 13, 2007. Approximately ioo people attended the
hearing, and 13 citizens spoke for the record.
All of the speakers (12) were in support of the proposed improvements to US 421
(King Street) in Boone. Comments were related to the time frame for right of way
acquisition, relocation assistance, construction duration, and possible advancement.
Comment: "As Mr. Lakey is aware and certain others are aware, we are in the
process of building a new high school just to the east of this property which
will be serviced primarily by this road. That high school is scheduled to be
completed and opening, and we're crossing our fingers, in August of 2010.
That's going to put more traffic on this road than what's there now. We
would hope that increased traffic would not have to be working through a
construction zone, trying to get to a new high school. We certainly hope that
you will do everything that you can to advance the project and move it along
to where it is completed by August 201o as well."
Response: In order to limit the impacts of construction along US 421 within
the project limits on the traffic going to and from the new high school, the date
for which right of way acquisition will begin will be advanced from August
2008 to November 2007. Also, the construction contract letting will be
advanced from April 2010 to April 2009.
Comment: "I'm just interested in the height of the wall that's going to go in
front our two new hotels across from New Market. Even more importantly,
what the wall is going to be made of and how it's going to look since it's going
to be a primary introduction of people into our town?"
Response: The type of the wall and the exact height of the proposed wall will
be determined during the right of way design stage of the plan development. It
is anticipated that the wall height will range from approximately 12' to 27.
Comment: "...there is one of the few large trees in the downtown area and on
the corridor that's probably going to be lost. I would ask you to please
consider the design, since most of the construction is going to occur on the
south side. I'm not saying push it off on the south side totally. If there's any
way to save this tree, I think it would be a benefit, not only to my family but
the community in general. I think it's the only yard in this corridor because
everything has gone business. I bet the tree is over loo years."
Response: The tree is in or relatively close to a temporary construction
easement. Construction operations may impact the tree. Removal due to
location may not be necessary. There may be possible damage to the tree root
structure that could result in the loss of the tree. However, an effort will be
made to avoid or minimize impacts to the trees.
Comment: "I do have a question in regards to public safety. With the medians
in the roadway, if there's an emergency for police, fire or EMS, can there be a
crossing that would be safe so they can cross over the medians.
Response: NCDOT does not recommend constructing a median crossover
along the project corridor. The only time we would entertain the idea of an
EMS crossing or median opening is if there was afire station located within the
project limits. The median and the curbing will be mountable consisting of 5"
curbs with 2" lips. The additional capacity provided by the proposed
improvements should increase response times for any EMS vehicles or services
that have to utilize US 421.
Comment: "This may be a silly question with regard to the schedule. Although
it's indeterminate what time you begin, do we have any idea how long a
project like this will take?"
Response: The construction duration would be approximately 3 years (3
springs). The project may require some nighttime construction. The
maintenance of traffic will make construction more complicated and thus more
time consuming than if the road could be closed.
Comment: "I've only owned my own place about 4 years. There's only going to
be about four businesses left on the left side. I've got seven employees to
employ; not counting all the jobs that's going to be took. We need to know as
fast as we can what's going to happen so we can plan. That's the only thing
I'm wondering is how long is all this going to take?
Response: If the schedule is able to be accelerated, right of way acquisition
may occur six months sooner than the current right of way date.
Comment: "My question is a lot of these properties on the south side are going
to be chopped up, smaller areas to develop or build on. I'm concerned about
what the town of Boone, as easy as they are to work with you, what's going to
happen in that regard. Some of these places like on my Mom's property, it
narrows down. Unless someone on either side buys our property, we haven't
even got a big enough place to build a parking lot with set backs for parking
cars or something. I'm concerned what may occur there with the reduced
amount of property that might be able to be developed unless people go
together and market their property. There's going to be even more loss to
some people than others."
Response: The department's interest is in acquiring the land needed for the
widening of US 421 and managing access to a practical extent. Right of Way
agents will discuss specific property impacts during the acquisition process.
Individual property owners are governed by local ordinances in regards to
redeveloping property.
2. Summary of Written Comments
In addition to the spoken commentary given at the hearing, NCDOT received a
total of fifteen (15) written comments. This was a combination of comments mailed in
and received at the public hearing. None of the comments received, expressed
opposition to the project. The comments received expressed the specific concerns of the
individual sending them in.
Written comments expressed concern about various issues within the project
corridor. There was concern in regards to large delivery trucks being able to access
properties along the project corridor. NCDOT expressed that proper delivery route
planning will allow all delivery vehicles reach their destination. The majority of the
written comments were in regards to the right of way acquisition and negotiation
8
process. Owners and tenants alike were concerned with the timeline and time available
to relocate prior to construction beginning.
The following requests were received from the Town of Boone. The NCDOT
response is shown in italics.
¦ Street lighting for the entire project.
Street lighting for improved facilities is to be paid for by the requesting
municipality.
¦ Sidewalks along both sides of the project.
NCDOT will replace any sidewalks removed during construction of the
improved facility. The current design proposes to construct sidewalks along
both sides of US 421 within the project limits. Per the NCDOT Pedestrian Policy
Guidelines (dated October 2000), in order for new sidewalks to be constructed,
a written request from the municipality for sidewalks must be received by the
Project Final Field Inspection and commitment must be demonstrated by a cost
sharing agreement execution prior to the let date.
¦ Bike lanes for the entire project `
The NCDOT Bike and Pedestrian Transportation Unit does not recommend the
installation of exclusive bike lanes in areas where there are numerous driveway
entrances and intersecting streets due to safety reasons. To accommodate
bicyclists, the project proposes to construct 14 foot wide outside lanes.
¦ Left-turn access from US 421 (south) into the Town of Boone Public Works
Center.
NCDOT does not recommend the constructing a median cross-over. Per the
NCDOT Median Crossover Guidelines, a median crossover shall only be
considered when the Department deems it necessary to service traffic generated
by existing (and proposed) roadways, businesses or other development; and
this traffic cannot be adequately serviced with the existing crossovers at
intersections, reasonable alternative routes or other access points.
¦ NCDOT to maintain the center median or contract with Town of Boone for
maintenance.
Per the NCDOT Landscaping Guidelines, the municipality is responsible for the
maintenance of the center median.
The NCDOT has reviewed and thoroughly considered all of the incoming
comments from the public and the environmental agencies. A post-hearing meeting was
held to discuss the comments and make final decisions regarding the proposed action.
While it is not reasonable or feasible to expect that all public recommendations can be
adequately incorporated into the final design, the proposed highway improvement does
reflect the prevailing consensus of the motoring public and their local officials while
serving the best interest of their welfare.
V. REVISION AND UPDATES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The following revisions and/or updates to the Environmental Assessment have
been made:
1. Changes in Preferred Alternative (see figures 4A and 4B)
US 421 (King Street) 0 US 321 (Hardin Street)
At the US 421 (King Street) /US 321 (Hardin Street) Intersection, the US 421
(North) approach will consist of three lanes; a combination thru and right-turn lane and
two exclusive left-turn lanes. The US 421 (South) approach will consist of one thru-lane
and a combination thru and right-turn lane. The US 321. (Northbound) approach will
consist of an exclusive left-turn lane, a thru-lane to facilitate traffic for Councill Street,
and an exclusive right-turn lane.
US 421 (King Street) (& US 221/NC los Extension
At the US 421 (King Street) /US 221 _ NC 105 Extension intersection, the US 421
(South) approach will include a left-turn lane for U-turn movements, two thru lanes a
right-turn lane.
US 421 (King Street) 0 NC 194 (Jefferson Road) /Daniel Boone Drive
Daniel Boone Drive will be realigned to intersect US 421 at the current T-
intersection of US 421 and NC 194. The realignment of Daniel Boone Drive will allow
additional access to the proposed new Watauga County High School that will be built
near the project. Along US 421 (North) an exclusive left-turn lane will be added to allow
movement on to the realigned Daniel Boone Drive. A thru lane from NC 194 (South) to
the realigned Daniel Boone Drive will also be constructed at the intersection.
2. Title VI/ Environmental Justice Concerns
Impacts to Identified Low-Income EJ Populations
The Community Impact Assessment (CIA) prepared for this project, dated
February 2006 identified three Census Blocks adjacent to southern project limit that
have an "above-threshold" level of low income individuals, prompting Environmental
Justice concerns. The high concentration of low-income individuals is due to the
presence of Appalachian State University students in the area. However, included in
these numbers could be "other residents and patrons of businesses and community
centers on East King Street." The CIA states, "if residential relocations are concentrated
on the southern side of the project corridor, these low income groups could be
disproportionately negatively impacted." that any improvements to US 421 along the
southside of project corridor." Per the Environmental Assessment, the decision to widen
US 421 along the southern side of the project corridor was based on the presence of a
large church along the north side, ease of construction and lower construction costs.
The decision to widen to the southern side was not based on the desire to avoid
Environmental Justice populations to the north of the project area. Subsequent field
inspections of the homes and businesses along King Street revealed a large number of
rental and student housing along the north side of the proposed project, similar in nature
to those citizens residing on the southside of King Street. Census Tract 9804 Block
Group 1, which is adjacent to the northern project limit, is a large Block Group that at its
10
furthest extent stretches approximately five miles northwest of the project area. Due to
the size of the Block Group, the demographic characteristics of residents living near King
Street are not revealed well by the data. Therefore, the demographic nature of the Block
Group obtained from the 2000 census does not specifically portray the composition of
the neighborhood along the project. Also, the 2000 census data identifies one area in
Census Tract 9804, Block Group 1 close to the proposed improvements to US 421 that
has a minority population two to three times the county average. It should also be noted
that of the 988 occupied units within this census tract, 459 are rented. Based off of the
diversity of populations, residences, businesses and other activities along King Street,
neither side of the street appeared as a clear choice for relocation, based solely on the
demographics of race, income, or other characteristics.
Public Involvement Efforts
Since there is a potential to impact Environmental Justice populations,
additional public involvement was performed. As part of the additional outreach,
NCDOT Division 11 staff posted approximately twenty five fliers announcing the
upcoming public hearing at businesses and apartment complexes in the area
surrounding the project. This effort was in addition to the regular publishing of notices
of the public hearing in local papers. Also, the ASU student newspaper, the Appalachian,
ran a news article about the project, as did the other local newspaper.
Public Comments
Public comments gathered at the public hearing included: concerns about project
scheduling conflicts with the new high school being constructed just east of the project
limit, questions about the material used in the retaining wall, safety concerns, access
concerns, aesthetic concerns particularly landscaping and the preservation of specimen
trees, compensation for relocations, the inclusion of audio traffic signals for the visually
impaired, and the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Further examination of
the public hearing sign-in sheet illustrates that there were a number of people who own
and /or operate residential and commercial property on the southern side of the project
that were present at the public hearing. Based on observations, examination of the sign
in sheet and discussions with attendees at the hearing, NCDOT Public Involvement staff
concluded that there were not any renters from the residential properties on the
southern side of the project present at the public hearing.
Available Mitigation Programs
The NCDOT Relocation Assistance Program is in place as a mitigation measure to
compensate and assist business owners and residents displaced by the proposed
widening. This program has three basic components: Relocation Moving Payments,
Relocation Replacement Housing Payments, and Relocation Assistance.
VI. BASIS FOR FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
Based on a study of the impacts of the proposed action, as documented in the
Environmental Assessment, and on comments from federal, state, and local agencies, it
is the finding of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal
Highway Administration that the project will not have a significant impact upon the
quality of the human or natural environment. The proposed action is not controversial
from an environmental perspective. No significant impacts on natural, ecological,
cultural, or scenic resources are expected. In view of the above evaluation, it has been
11

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?r Providiug Public ,
AppaICART
POB 2357 • Boone North Carolina 28607-2357 • 828 264.2278 • Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] • Websile: appalcart.com
Christopher D. Turner
d [e-mail]
828.264.2280 December 28, 2004
Dr. Greiwry Thorpe
Attn: Dion .1. Viventl
PE Project Development and Envlu-onmental Analysis Branch
North Carolina Department of Transportation
PO Box 25201
Raleigh, NC 27611
TIP LU-=4020
Dear Sirs:
I am writing to thank you for having the informational sessions in Boone last month
regarding the widening of US 421 between Hardin Street and NC 194. As the
Transportation Director of AppalCART the local transportation authority, I can tell you
that Nve need a wider turn lane going South on US 421 where you turn left to New Market
Centre Boulevard. Several times our vehicles have lost mirrors to oncoming trucks while
we wait to make a left turn.
There is also a need to make a safe pedestrian crossing to New Market Centre from
Woods Circle at the junction of US 421 and New Market Boulevard. Many people in the
apartments on Wood Circle have no safe way to get to New Market Centre without
driving. All the bus stops are on the New Market Centre side of the street so it would be
helpful to have a pedestrian crosswalk. It would also be good to have a crosswalk across
New Market Boulevard. Both of these crosswalks should have lights and audible signals
as we have a number of blind people in the area who would need these devices to cross
the roads safely..
T there SI'L! ? I-e sirni1':r pedes',tri,-- - •oss,,`,21ks at the US 4121. and Hardin Street
intersection, particularly getting across King Street to the corner adjacent to the Daniel
Boone Inn. It would also be good to have some pedestrian facilities at the junction of NC
105 and US 421.
I noticed an error on the map. State Farm Road is shown beginning at the intersection of
US 42.1 and 221. That is locally referred to as the intersection of NC105 Extension and
US 421. State Farm Road begins at the traffic light on NC 105 Extension and State Farm
Road.
Sincerely,
Christopher D.-'3 Lirner

MICHAEL F. E.-\SLEY
GovLR,,NOR
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1 501 IVLAIL SERVICE CENTER; RALEIGH, N.C. 27699-1501
LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY
January 8, 2004
The Honorable Velma C. Burnley
Mayor of Boone
Post Office Drawer 192
Boone, North Carolina 28607
Dear Mayor Burnley:
Thank you for your letter presenting the Transportation Improvement Program priorities
for the Town of Boone.
Based on your request, we are modifying the scope of the planning work for Project
U-4020 to include improvements to US 421 from US 221 (105 Extension) to NC 194.
Board of Transportation member Sam Erby has indicated his strong support for this
scope change and plans to meet with town officials and the chamber of commerce to
discuss potential funding options for the proposed improvements.
As you may know, work has begun on the planning for Project U-4020. Due to the
change in the scope of work, we anticipate an eight-month delay in the right-of-way
acquisition and construction.
If you need additional information, please let me know...
Sincerely,
L ndo .T ppett
LT/va
cc: Samuel L. Erby, Member, Board of Transportation
PHONE [phone] FAX [phone]

William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
Division of Water Quality
Coleen N. Sullins, Deputy Director
Division of Water Quality
October 14, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
NCDOT Project Development & Environmental Analysis Branch
FROM: Cynthia F. Van Der Wiele, NCDOT Coordinator
SUBJECT: Review of Scoping Sheets for Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to
US 221 (Hwy 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga County, F.A. Project NHF-421(31), State
Project No. 8.1751601, TIP No. U-4020, Division 11.
In reply to your correspondence dated August 7, 2003 (received August 11, 2002) in which you requested
comments for the referenced project, preliminary analysis of the project indicates that the following water
resources in Hydrologic Unit 05-07-01 will be impacted:
Stream (Index)
Boone Creek (10-1-4-4)
Water Ouality Classification
C trout +
The "+" symbol identifies waters that are subject to a special management strategy specified in .15A NCAC 2B
.0225, the Outstanding Resources Waters (ORW) rule, in order to protect downstream waters designated as ORW.
NC Division of Water Quality has the following comments:
Environmental Documentation
The environmental document should provide a detailed and itemized presentation of the proposed impacts to
wetlands and streams with corresponding mapping. If mitigation is required, it is preferable to present a
conceptual (if not finalized) mitigation plan with the environmental documentation. Appropriate mitigation plans
will be required prior to issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification.
Design & Construction
The New River Basinwide Water Quality Plan (DWQ, 2000) notes that in Sub-basin 05-07-01, most of the High
Quality and Outstanding Resource Waters in the New River basin are found in the South Fork New River
watershed, despite the fact that 63 percent of the basin population lives in the drainage. These waters provide
habitat for 24 rare, threatened or endangered species including three fish species that are found only in the New
River basin.
Furthermore, urbanization often has greater hydrologic effects than any other land use, as native watershed
vegetation is replaced with impervious surfaces in the form of paved roads, buildings, parking lots, and residential
homes and yards. Urbanization results in increased surface runoff and correspondingly earlier and higher peak
flows after storms. Flooding frequency is also increased. These effects are compounded when small streams are
channelized (straightened) or piped and storm sewer systems are installed to increase transport of drainage waters
downstream. Bank scour from these frequent high flow events tends to enlarge urban streams and increase
suspended sediment. Scouring also destroys the variety of habitat in streams leading to degradation of benthic
macroinvertebrate populations and loss of fisheries (EPA, 1999).
RIME
N. C. Division of Water Quality, 401 Wetlands Certification Unit,
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh. NC 27699.1650 (Mailing Address)
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604-2260 (Location)
[phone] (phone), 919-733-6893 (fax), (http://h2o,enr.state.nc.us/ncwetlands)
Customer Service #: 1-877-623-6748
X
,R. t'r ?V T'>tii,?
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commis'§.

TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch, NCDOT
:L,` 16-
FROM: Maria Chambers, Highway Projects Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program, NCWRC
DATE: . October 29, 2003
SUBJECT: Review of NCDOT scoping sheets for widening of US 421 (King Street) from US
321 (Hardin Street) to US 221 (Highway 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga
County. TIP No. U-4020.
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is requesting comments from the
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRG) regarding impacts to fish and
wildlife resources resulting from the subject. project. Staff biologists have reviewed the
information provided on the scoping sheets and have the following preliminary comments.
These comments are provided in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)) and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as
amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).
The NCDOT proposes to widen the existing US 421 (King Street), a 2-lane roadway, to a
five-lane curb and gutter facility from US 321 (Hardin Street) to US 221 (Highway .105
Extension) in Boone, for a project length of approximately 0.3 miles. An unnamed tributary to
Boone Creek, Class C trout, and an unnamed tributary to Hardin Creek, Class C +, appear to be
within the project study area. Boone Creek is classified "C trout +".
Current land use surrounding the project is primarily commercial and high-density
residential and is fully developed. Access management should address safety and level of
service issues. Transit, bicycle and pedestrian use and future expansion will need to be
considered in the project design. Sidewalks may be included on the south side of the roadway.
We encourage NCDOT and the Town of Boone to consider using non-impervious materials to
construct sidewalks, particularly in developed watersheds with a high percentage of impervious
surfaces. Stormwater management using low impact development techniques (see
for information) in urbanized areas is also strongly encouraged

N1.ailin;Address.

-_,

,i.,;i

.. :i t; .... ......
_......._.---

. _,, .;r • ,..... t;.?,4(' 17699-1721

US 421, East King Street
Boone, Watauga County 2 October 29, 2003
to minimize negative impacts to receiving waters. Alternatives to curb and gutter should be
investigated. Stormwater should receive pre-treatment and not routed directly into streams.
In addition, to help facilitate document preparation and the review process, our general
information needs are outlined below:
1. Description of fishery and wildlife resources within the project area, including a listing of
federally or state designated threatened, endangered, or special concern species. Potential
borrow areas to be used for project construction should be included in the inventories. A
listing of designated plant species can be developed through consultation with the
following programs:
The Natural Heritage Program
N. C. Division of Parks and Recreation
1615 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N. C. 27699-1615
[phone]
and,
NCDA Plant Conservation Program
P. O. Box 27647
Raleigh, N. C. 27611
[phone]
2. Description of any streams or wetlands affected by the project. If applicable, include the
linear feet of stream that will be channelized or relocated.
3. Cover type maps showing wetland acreage impacted by the project. Wetland acreage
should include all project-related areas that may undergo hydrologic change as a result of
ditching, other drainage, or filling for project construction. Wetland identification may
be accomplished through coordination with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE). If the USACE is not consulted, the person delineating wetlands should be
identified and criteria listed.
4. Cover type maps showing acreage of upland wildlife habitat impacted by the proposed
project. Potential borrow sites and waste areas should be included.
Show the extent to which the project will result in loss, degradation, or fragmentation of
wildlife habitat (wetlands or uplands).
6. Include the mitigation plan for avoiding, minimizing or compensating for direct and
indirect degradation in habitat quality as well as quantitative losses.
7. Address the overall environmental effects of the project construction and quantify the
contribution of this individual project to environmental degradation. .
US 421, East King Street
Boone, Watauga County
October 29, 2003
8. Provide a discussion of the.probable impacts on natural resources, which will result from
secondary development, facilitated by the improved road access.
9. If construction of this facility is to be coordinated with other state, municipal, or private
development projects, a description of these projects should be included in the
environmental document, and all project sponsors should be identified.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input in the early planning stages of this project.
If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact me at [phone].
cc: Marella Buncick, USFWS
Cynthia Van Der Wiele, NCDWQ
/ OF
County of Watauga JAN 0 3 2005
Courthouse, Suite 1 • 842 West King Street • Boone, North Carolina 28.61!. ;?,.1. _;,?p?
THE Sr-ORFTARY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Jim Deal, Chairman
William R. Winkler, III, Vice-Chairman
David Blust
Keith Honeycutt
Winston Kinsey
December 22, 2004
Mr. Lyndo Tippett
Secretary of Transportation
1501 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1501
Dear Mr. Tippett:
Telephone [phone]
TDD 1-800-735-2962
Voice 1-800-735-8262 JAN 3 - LuLb
COUNTY MANAGER
Robert E. Nelson, Jr.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
. Anthony di Santi
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners instructed me to forward a copy of the enclosed
Resolution adopted at their December 21, 2004, regular meeting supporting enhancements for
the NCDOT project to widen US 421 (King Street) TIP Project # U-4020.
Sincerely,
Anita J. Fogle
Clerk to the Board
Watauga County Commissioners
Enclosure
Resolution In Support of Enhancements for the
NCDOT Project to Widen US 421 (King Street)
TIP Project # U-4020
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in conjunction
with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to widen
approximately one mile of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane facility from
Hardin Street (HWY 321) to Jefferson Road (HWY 194); and
WHEREAS this section of King Street is the primary entrance to historic downtown
Boone, a much frequented tourist destination; and
WHEREAS, Watauga County's economy is dependant upon tourism; and
WHEREAS, the proposed widening will displace or negatively impact at least one-half
of the businesses and residential structures situated M the right-of-way corridor.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT
to make special allowance for preserving the character of the primary entrance to
downtown Boone during the planning and construction phase of this project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT to provide
for the placement and funding of enhancements on this project to include, but not
be limited to, extensive native landscaping, sidewalks and bike lanes, landscaped
medians, native rockwork for any walls or. structures, aesthetically-pleasing street
lighting and signage; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT to make
every effort to work with the Town of Boone elected officials and staff to
preserve the community character while developing and constructing this project.
AS ADOPTED by the Watauga County Board of Commissioners on this the 21st day
of December , 2004.
i1 w"
CVairman
ATTEST:
(SEAL)
Anita J. Fogle..J
Clerk to the Board
8A8
MCC of,\"
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resour ,l`E.?;,, G?
State Historic Preservation Office ?s,s gf?
David L. S. Brook, Administrator
Michael F. Easley, Governor Division of Historical Resources
Lisbeth C. Evans, Secretary
Jeffrey J. Crow, Deputy Secretary
Office of Archives and History
October 20, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Greg Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
NCDOT Division of Highways
i '
FROM: David Brook U3'u -
SUBJECT: Scoping, Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to US 221
(Highway 105 Extension), Boone, U-4020, Watauga County, ER03-2131
Thank you for your letter of August 11, 2003, concerning the above project.
We have conducted a search of our maps and files and located the following structure of historical or
architectural importance within the general area of this project:
Jones House, 124 King Street, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
We recommend that a Department of Transportation architectural historian identify and evaluate any
structures over fifty years of age within the project area, and report the findings to us.
There are no known archaeological sites within the proposed project area. Based on our knowledge of the
area, it is unlikely that any archaeological resources that may be eligible for conclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places will be affected by the project. We, therefore, recommend that no archaeological
investigation be conducted in connection with this project.
The above comments are made pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's Regulations for Compliance with Section 106 codified at 36 CFR
Part 800.
Thank you for your cooperation and consideration. If you have questions concerning the above comment,
contact Renee Gledhill-Earley, environmental review coordinator, at 919/733-4763. In all future
communication concerning this project, please cite the above referenced tracking number.
www.hn0.dcr.state.nc.us
Location Mailing Addre3s Telephone/Fax
ADMINIS"f RATION 507 N. Blount St., Raleigh NC 4617 Mail Service Center. Raleigh NC 27699-4617 [phone] • 733-8653
RESTORATION 515 N. Blount St., Raleigh NC 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-4617 [phone] • 715-`1801
SURVEY & PLANNING 515 N. Blount St., Raleigh NC 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 276994617 [phone] • 715-4801
HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE. SECTION
A UVN;IOR-r'VDUi 1
TO: Dior. ). Viventi, PE, Project Development Engineer
FROM: Richard Silverman, Office of Human Environment
SUBJECT: U-4020, Boone, Watauga County
DATE: January 30, 2004
CC: Project File
Attached is a signed concurrence form which states that NCDOT and SHPO, agree
that:
• There are properties over fifty years old within the project's Area of Potential
Effects (APE), but based on the historical information available and the
photographs of each property, none is considered eligible for the National
Register and no further evaluation of them is necessary.
• There are no National Register-listed nor any Study-Listed properties within
the project's area of potential effects.
Since there are no historic properties affected by the proposed project, compliance
with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for historic architecture is
complete. Please notify us in writing if the scope of this project changes. A change
in scope may necessitate a new survey of the APE.
Frrcl&alzlid = NIIF-a21(_ 1 TIP# U-4020 C`csunh': Wataul?a
CONCURRENCE FORM FOR PROPERTIES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR
THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF 111STORIC: PLAUS
Project Description: Widvii US 421 (King St.) Fro-in US 321 to US 221 in Boone
On ,1yn. 21. 200.1 mprc,cntdtivS of (he
® North Carolina Department of Trat:sportation (NCDOT)
® Federal Highw;ty Aldminisiratinn (FH`JdA)
® North Carolina State Ilistoric Preserv ation Office (HPO)
? Othcr
Reviewed the subject project 3t
? Scoping Ineetin;
Historic. architectural resources photograph review session: consultation
? Othcr
All parties present agreed
? Thcrc arc no properties over fifty years old,.vithin the project's area of potential effects:
Thcr are rio properties s:ess than fifty year-, old whi-.h are considered to mect C:ritcria Consideration G within the
proiect's area o2 potential cf ccts.
® There are properties over fifty years old within the project's Area of Potential F..tTects (APE), but based on the
historical intotiratior, available artd thephntoeraphr of each prupcrty, the propet71ies identified as=1-thru nlZ
are considered scot eli,iblc for the. National Register and no further evaluation Cif them is neccssary.-
® There are no National Rggister-1i:tc:d or Study i.istcd properties within rite project's area ofpotcntial effects.
'NOTE: The .Jones flow.(- (NR) is not in the APE for Otis proicct.
® All properties grE3.ter than 50 yew of age located in the APE have been considered at this con>ultation, and based
upon the above cuncurrence, all compliance for historic architecture with Section 106 of the National historic
Preservation Act and GS 121-12(a) has b,:cn completed for this project.
® There are no historic properties affected by this project. (Attract; carry nnt?.? yr ducun:ants u5 rtfe?led)
Signcd:
` _ -?/ ??s?J ZtxJ zf
epresentativc. NCI?O"f' Datc
A, for the Division Adtntntstrawr. or

senlatiwe., IiI'O

Fcdcral AgOLICy
I \ D 1,,J
Date
State Ilistorc Preservation Officer ???4?Y11 Darr
II :; sun'cy rgtiotl is prepsrcd. a trout L;upy oft IIis frnn and the aUUChed list ?, iiI be included.
1. The presence of intact riparian buffers and/or wetlands in urban areas can lessen these impacts and restoration
of these watershed features should be considered where feasible.
2. The DWQ requests that DOT use Best Management Practices for the Protection of Surface Waters (March
1997) throughout the design and construction of this project.
3. In order to prevent degradation of water quality,
• Phased grading and seeding plans designed to minimize the exposure of bare ground is strongly
encouraged;
¦ Storm water runoff from the project should be pre-treated to the maximum extent feasible, rather
than routed directly into streams.
4. Sediment should be removed from any water pumped from behind a cofferdam before the water is returned to
the stream.
Wetland and stream impacts should be avoided to the maximum extent practical. If this is not possible,
alternatives that minimize wetland impacts should be chosen. In accordance with the NCDWQ Wetlands
Rules { 15A NCAC 2H.0506(b)(6)), mitigation will be required for impacts of greater than 150 linear feet to
any single perennial stream. In the event that mitigation becomes required, the mitigation plan should be
designed to replace appropriate lost functions and values. In accordance with the NCDWQ Wetlands Rules
{ 15A NCAC 2H.0506 (h)(3)), the Wetland Restoration Program (WRP) or Ecological Enhancement Program.
(EEP) may be available compensatory mitigation.
Thank you for requesting our input at this time. The DOT is reminded that issuance of a 401 Water Quality
Certification requires that appropriate measures be instituted to ensure that water quality standards are met and
designated uses are not degraded or lost. If you have any questions or require additional information, please
contact Cynthia Van Der Wiele at [phone].
Attachment
pc: John Thomas, USACE Raleigh Field Office
Chris Militscher, USEPA
Marella Buncick, USFWS
Marla. Chambers, NCWRC
File Copy
..
.
.. es?.,
. s
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natur.al,Reource,
r Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
> Division of Water Quality
Q Coleen H. Sullins, Deputy Director
Division of Water Quality
October 14, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
NCDOT Project Development & Environmental Analysis Branch
FROM: Cynthia F. Van Der Wiele, NCDOT Coordinator '.. .r? ,.?; t__.'
SUBJECT: Review of Scoping Sheets for Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to
US 221 (Hwy 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga County, F.A. Project NHF-421(31), State
Project No. 8.1751601, TIP No. U-4020, Division 11.
In reply to your correspondence dated August 7, 2003 (received August 11, 2002) in which you requested
comments for the referenced project, preliminary analysis of the project indicates that the following water
resources in Hydrologic Unit 05-07-01 will be impacted:
Stream (Index)
Boone Creek (10-1-4-4)
Water Ouality .Classification
C trout +
The "+" symbol identifies waters that are subject to a special management strategy specified in 15A NCAC 2B
.0225, the Outstanding Resources Waters (ORW) rule, in order to protect downstream waters designated as ORW.
NC Division of Water Quality has the following comments:
Environmental Documentation
The environmental document should provide a detailed and itemized presentation of the proposed impacts to
wetlands and streams with corresponding mapping. If mitigation is required, it is preferable to present a
conceptual (if not finalized) mitigation plan with the environmental documentation. Appropriate mitigation plans
will be required prior to issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification.
Design & Construction
The New River Basinwide Water Quality Plan (DWQ, 2000) notes that in Sub-basin 05-07-01, most of the High
Quality and Outstanding Resource Waters in the New River basin are found in the South Fork New River
watershed, despite the fact that 63 percent of the basin population lives in the drainage. These waters provide
habitat for 24 rare, threatened or endangered species including three fish species that are found only in the New
River basin.
Furthermore, urbanization often has greater hydrologic effects than any other land use, as native watershed
vegetation is replaced with impervious surfaces in the form of paved roads, buildings, parking lots, and residential
homes and yards. Urbanization results in increased surface runoff and correspondingly earlier and higher peak
flows after storms. Flooding frequency is also increased. These effects are compounded when small streams are
channelized (straightened) or piped and storm sewer systems are installed to increase transport of drainage waters
downstream. Bank scour from these frequent high flow events tends to enlarge urban streams and increase
suspended sediment. Scouring also destroys the variety of habitat in streams leading to degradation of benthic
macroinvertebrate populations and loss of fisheries (EPA, 1999).
N. C. Division of Water Quality, 401 Wetlands Certification Unit,
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1650 (Mailing Address)
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604-2260 (Location)
[phone] (phone), 919-733-6893 (fax), (hnv:lfb2o.ent.state.nc.us/ncwedands)
Customer Service #l: 1-877-623-6748
DEiv

County of Watau g"a :- JAN 0 3 2005
Courthouse, Suite 1 • 842 West King Street • Boone, North Carolina 2a61`ti'1.1)1-- CRANSFORTAI-&
<'FFICi= i?F THE SECRETARY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Telephone [phone] COUNTY MANAGER
TDD 1-800-735-2962 Robert E. Nelson, Jr.
Jim Deal, Chairman Voice 1-800-735-8262 .M 3 _ A
William R. Winkler, III, Vice-Chairman COUNTY ATTORNEY
David Blust Anthony di Santi
Keith Honeycutt
Winston Kinsey
December 22, 2004
Mr. Lyndo Tippett
Secretary of Transportation
1501 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1501
Dear Mr. Tippett:
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners instructed me to forward a copy of the enclosed
Resolution adopted at their December 21, 2004, regular meeting supporting enhancements for
the NCDOT project to widen US 421 (King Street) TIP Project # U-4020.
Sincerely,
Anita J. Fogle
Clerk -to the Board
Watauga County Commissioners
Enclosure
Town of Boone
APR 2 7 2W
MAY 08 2:;0i
Resolution In Support of Acceleration of the
NCDOT Project to Widen US 421 (King Street) 'off" i
TIP Project # U-4020
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in conjunction with the Federal
Hi,,,,Iiway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to widen approximately one mile of US Hwy 421 (King-Street)
to a multi-lane facility from Hardin Street (US Hwy 321) to Jefferson Road (NC Hwy 194); and
WHEREAS NCDOT has announced a tentative project schedule of construction beginning in April, 2010; and
WHEREAS, Watauga County is constructing the new Watauga High School on a site accessed by US Hwy 421
east of the TIP Project #U-4020; and y y
WHEREAS, the new Watauga High School is scheduled to open in August, 2010; and
WHEREAS, US Hwy 421 (King Street) is the primary travel route to the high school site for residents of
Boone, Blowing Rock, and the wester half of Watauga County; and
WHEREAS, Average Daily Traffic on King Street ranges from 19,600 to 39,700 vehicles (already above the
design capacity), and is projected to increase to 28,900 to 67,800 vehicles per day by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the accident rate for 2002-2005 within the project area of U-4020 was two- times the statewide
rate for similar highway facilities; and
WHEREAS, adding significant new traffic from the new Watauga High School to an already dangerous, traffic-
choked road that would be impeded by the U-4020 construction in August, 2010 would create an even more
congested and hazardous situation.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Boone Town Council requests the NCDOT to accelerate
TIP Project U-4020 so that it can be complete before or shortly after the scheduled opening of the new Watauga
High School in August, 2010.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Boone Town Council alternatively requests the NCDOT to divide
U-4020 into. two phases, with phase 1 consisting of the section from NC Hwy 105 to NC Hwy 194 and being
complete before August, 2010.
AS ADOPTED by the Boone Town Council on this the 19`h day of April, 2007.
Mayor
ATTEST:
`?-
Town Clerk
P.O. DRAVJER 192 - BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA 28607
North Carolina
Department of Administration
Michael F. Easley, Governor Britt Cobb, Secretary
January 22, 2007
Mr. Gregory Thorpe
N.C. Dept. of Transportation
Program Development
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh„ NC 27699-1534
Dear Mr. Thorpe:
;,€
Re: SCH File # 07-E-4220-0212; EA; Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC
194 (Jefferson Ave.) to US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga
County. - TIP No. U-4020
The above referenced environmental impact information has been submitted to the State Clearinghouse
under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. According to G. S. 113A-10, when a
state agency is required to prepare an environmental document under the provisions of federal law, the
environmental document meets the provisions of the State Environmental Policy Act. Attached to this
letter for your consideration are the comments made by agencies in the course of this review.
If any further environmental review documents are prepared for this project, they should be forwarded to
this office for intergovernmental review.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
-XV
Ms. Chrys Baggett
Environmental Policy Act Coordinator
Attachments
cc: Region D
Region K
Mailing Address: Telephone: [phone] Location Address:
1301 Mail Service Center Fax [phone] West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27699-1301 State Courier #51-01-00 Raleigh, North Carolina
[e-mail]
An Equal Opportunity/Aff rmative Action Employer
F
?;'A
MCDE IR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
!M9chael F. Easley, Governor
MaIORIUNDUM
t
EmvirC.rRLenta &evierw %'Or dinatcr
M'Aiarrt G., Ross At, Secretary
SUBJECT oz"? 11'312 widenia-gi wf CAS 421 ?.. Watauga Got,nt_t
D: %E..Ei Ja'. uar:y" -19r 200
Th:e. T e•oartm.e.'zt of v v ro memt . awd `Pdat.tura, R,escv'urces has xeviewed the
proposed information, '+':ie attached .: ommiptats are. fo_ the appl f c=rlt l s
'T.-ha:nk;yov-- fcz the oppc?rtuxn-ity to review.
A t t.a chmen t s
16:01 MM Service Center, Rafei??, N th Carciina 276?x-1601 ne..
N! C} ??? Car-'?.?xla
"in?
Phone: M-733-49841 FAX: [phone] \ Interne: t?"Y,enr.state.rc,usf6NRI l?
An Equa4 Oppot 0p' Affivi9.*je kvan ?_Mlpi `'Wer • -i,,a % AtcyCled, - o i•3 Pew O'Cmumer Pacer'
J ;l North. Car'ohna Wildlife Resources Commission
Richard B.. i.aniifton Execulive Director
I`C): fefl a McGee, rin- iro-nmental Coordinator
OTICe of Legislative aji 11t;per t,'w erns enta) .v#fairs; IMFNN R
FROM: MaTla -Charn.be s, ??' ?t ray. NC l• OT Permit Coordinator ? ?'?: ?3 u•r+ ?r•
Habitat NCW'R-C
DATE, January, 1 . -007
S:UB)ECT-- Rev, evv of the EnviroTL mental Assessnierrt .Ior the proposed widening of C'S 421
(King Street) to a 171ulti-lane; facility from. NC 134 (Jefferson ..Avenue) to US 321
(Bard in Stree-Q are Boone; Watauga Count:. TIP No, U-41120. OLIA 'N°o, 07-
0212 revised dare date I>"17.'200.7
\orth Carolinti Department of i t ansport rt:ion. ?NNCDOJ) 'Liss submitted for rcview in
Environmental Assessnren (EA) document for the :subject project.. Staff biologists with the
N`t?rth. Carolina. Wildli-f Resources Commission. (NCWRC) have reviewed the information
provided. These tormnen s 'xr provided in accordance with the pror~isions of the National
En .
i ilk' rQnmenta1 I'c ltty pct (:42 U.S.C 43302('27)(C)) and the Fish and Wildlife, Coordination pct
(4$ Stat:. 4131, a? amended.- 1:6 U.S.C. 661.-.667d).
NCD.OT:ptopose.s `to widen US 421 (kind Street) to a multi-lane, divided. curb-and-gutter
facility from:.NC 194 (ae;f`ferso t Avenue) to C.IS '321 (Hardin Street) in Boone., NC fc)r a project
Length. of Approximately 1.135 miles. Ile :NCDOT's. preferred a.l:ternative is a ?contbhge-d 4 to 6-
1ane road av, witb wider outside lanes to accommodate bicycles anti sidewalks provided can both:
Sides i :f`the road. Trn.pa.c:ts for this al.ternatrve aljpear the satne as the 4-lame a.hemativc;.
Approxirnate.J.,), 1.00 feet-of strewn. impacts: are antic•ipat.ed .to .ettend and. join the. culverts carrying,
Hardin, Creek. and one if its unimn:w.d tributaries t1r.e l.TS 421. and NC'. 194 ju.net.ion. Hardin
Creeki.s Oassi'f.ed a? G -?'t {ti c vnd.ej-siond the indicate; specially designated ..va cars, such as
C)trt itiraciin i?zsc3ur e. NVaters, occur dt??,N•nstr•earn, Boone Creel::, Class C trout f is also in the
protect. aTes, but, is riot txp".Ied to be i-axicled. Troui arc: knovyrt iz• m the Boone vicinity,
hicludin..tire Small., Fork. New River that Eardin. Creek flo- w-s to about one mile; downstrearni.
i4 ?[ling:?'?cttlrc?ss: Div is.ion of ffi. u.-Ld Fisheries • 1721 A??i1 Service Center - Raieich• NC. 2??6991 1,121
Telephone (919) 707-{a?LQ - Fax; (919) 70`7-0028
tls'ai. tt. C'rmk, %Yka ititp Co.
a .rkeann I, =00'
Hardin. Creek inav suppart trout as ivt ut have been oted. frovi other small urbanized. streams in
the vicinity.. and. a. nxorato:rhim may he recommended.
Drbmstreamof the pr(Iect the Sout}] l ork.i\?ci IZivrrr is also inhabrted. by the .Kanawha minnow
(P)rtnacobius teretu-1 )Federal Species of Concern '17SC) and state Special Concern {SC)
Kanawha, darter (&-heosmrrth han n hcie ), state .SignifIcantly Tare.; sharpnose darter (Jler'cina
oilr4ynchns.A3 state SC: owl ps minnow ,Exog,1047sum maxiliirgua), state f ndan:gered (E); seep.
rtiudalin (Gc?xtaxrs cati?tz'tc.xtr), Matt Threatened; . greeal floater t;Lrr_r.;miontt sthv%rid'trc); FSC and
stag E; and spike (EfI%.,fio ca Tall id), state SC. Sediment. and erosion: control and. storill 1atir
treatirtent IVii. lie. important for this, project. Sedinient. and. erosion cmitrol measures :should
adhere to the design standards kir sensitive vVatersheds. The c:urli-and-g-utter facility will car..
pollutapt- laden rw,.ofr from this high:1v Urbanized area to ncarbyt stremns; slortn«.9ter treatment
f om. the roadiva project awst.be maximized and. is strongly encouraged for area development.
Nutmerous swdies ?] eve: shove n that when } .--1 5% of a w-atershzd is cvnverted to iniper r ous
surface.; there is - a seriou decline In the health of mceivirtg . waters (Schueler 1994) and the
duality c]f fish. habitat and wetlands are. negatively impact d (',Booth iggi, 'raylo:r 1.99,). we
reei:ommend thatthe local oftici.als require strong; storrawate:r ccmtrols for e- 1eyelopanen.t: hi the
vicinity and use lov-%- impact del:Ttoptnerit techniques (see for
infArmafion) Ttc) manage stonnNivater cJu ntity and quality.. We tmc.ourape NC.DO T and local
official use n"]n-impervious ma e-Tials to construct sidek-walks, parking lots, and o ber f4cilities,
partic ularfly in developing, Nva'tersheds and those with a. high percentage of .i3npervious :surfaces,
Measures to mitigate secondar an4 cumtrlat « impacts scan be found in the Guidance
Meinorandurn tQ Adt ress And iA.itieate Secondary and Cumulative Impacts to Aquatic and
Terrestrial VV ild}.ife ,Resources. and Water Quality; (NCNV"RC Z00, 2j:
Thank. You. for the opportunity- to review and cam nent can this pmieet, If mote have wiy questions
regarding these wmmients,. please contact nit at (70.4)-545-384 1.
Literature C:I':tcd-.
,Booth,. D. 199t, Urbanization and the. natUrtl drainage s3stem-it]:apact:s, solutity. s, and
prognoses '?o:?rxh??fest..i?ntitonrstentalJourraaf:. 7(l),93-118.
I C'ti4'RC .(Ndrth. Ca bl.ina. Wildlife Res.outces Coniin'ission". ?Cif?. Guidance ??fe oransluxri to
Address and Nfitigate Sec-ondary. and Cumulaiive Impacrs to Aquatic and 'T'errestrial
Wildi.ife Resources and Water- Quality, -tiCWRC, Ralcigh.. Available:
1]ttp z,?v?vr? .zte? ilillr:°f .zr 'p ? ?N1=ildlifeSpecic4C"cnY imprreis--p ; 4,^February
Schucler, "fort .: 1994.. The Importan.c. of Imper iousness.. Watemted. Protection Tecluli.ilues,
l::s (pJ?1.00-111).
TA ]or, R, 1993: Thi Ii in'-fluences of ;v-etland and wat:ershecl z-nofpho.i.ogica'l characteristics and
telafionsh p to wetland vegetan,on communities. Masters t:hesls, Dept, of Civil
} ?pning. T?:nivers. t?= of =ashington. S-ea.ttl.e:, Nfi_k.
U4021 i1. LAS 421 (Kipp, Street)
llurtlitt C ieik, \?'aLauga3. January 1', 2007
Marella Buncick, tJSFWS
Sue Home ood, NCDWQ
Angie Rodgers, NCNHP
0 A 109 ?i m casley G ilao*
1u"4rlxarii G Ross Jr 'Sec:Bta?,
hGSzi Ca;? na Q a e of v. r mr-ens:.s a e3a -a Resources
9r- k,?ar l4' -Srrrek, P .E. Director
uiviston of Water Quality
Jar nary 11007
MEINIORA-D "N1
TO: Melba I4'lc-Ciee
F=rom.: $,=c ffome rood. Di vision o7"We-T Quality, Winston-SBleraRegional Of4nce
Subject: Comments on the En-6rx nmental Asfiesssrrve l rented to pi-o-pos d US 421 :Kom existing
N 1941:0 existxt'g LS 321, Watuall--a: County. Pyderal Aid Project .No. NH*F-42l(3? ).
State Prq ea:t No. S. l :t-5 l601, TIP U-4,! 220, DENT l rcie ct 1(l7-011 ? (due cute 1,1&107
).
A!s office has. rcv iewed.the refmnced documcut dated November 16;. 2606. The Division of 'Wafer
QuaIitv (L7W'.Qj is rt;spoitsible.for. the i-ssuance of the Section. 401 Water Quality CeriAtcation far
actinfliers. that irnpa t 'L atc?S of the: including wetlands. ft is c ur 9ancl zanditta; tftat the project as
p ermed ?v"fl resdlt in. impacts to.
offers the foilo.,ving contments lsastd: on ter, iv of the .a:for..tmentimx .. locu.wnent:.
"l . Future environnitatal docurn nts, including the 401. Water Qaality Ce.rti.Ti.c-atfon Application should.
pmyide. a detaaledaand .iteMi ed preservation of the proposed impacts to wetlands and strearns vd.th
oomspopding,ant$ppang.; Ii'rriitigatifln. is nec+ scar; .as: re rritexl. b ' lSA NCkG 2 .U (lti(h)L it is
pr?fe*bl€ to prcient a onevptuat (if not tx taiize) t6IM. atson.plan r tith the en *i an enta.l.
do'cdnletiTatush. Appropriare n-iia cation plans will. be required pa:iar to issuance of fa 40.1 Nkratrr
Qua.lit'ti"Certltl :t on..
After the selection ot.the prefemd altemal. c and prior to arr tsstiance. of'tl e 40.1 Water Quality
C:ertifcation tt2 .C'pC)T to re`4cciflad - reminded that theywill treed to demor..smrate the.
?x<cniifa;ice
and .min' .,mxatign of impacts. top is zd. (arid: streuim) to the' nrm-i:murn rx.wv4 pmcticsl., 'iaa
accordance NN l . the Vin..v0Ttr wnIak Mainagenient: Comm. issio's Mules .f 3SAI CAC 2HLOS06() .,
rrti ligation i611.ibe req fired for impacts of .arc Ater than 1. acre to i t Hands. In the evena. That
nutigatign. is reauired,_ the Trtitiigatlonplan sbotd.d be. des:ivgned. to replace appropr ate lost function S.
and value•g. The NCI Ecos?-stem, Enhancerrtent Progam may be avaiMle for usi ,' s weiland
n?ittgaticytt.
%.. Ih acc . d-a nce:':'ith *he I nc°irox rrr?rta3l.l a c ent Cornrniasia?n` lute (I 5, . C.A?: .
2.f . tt6 h ; . ifii::atiorr. ?ui.l1. rz u3red fi r i raj?acts of grc ater than, 150 Tinear feet to any single
perermial stream. In. the event: that mitigation is required, the mitigation plan should' designed -to
replace appropriate host tunctlans and =bluer. "Tbe NC Eclosystem Enhancement Progra-.n may he
available fir use as trearn xx?itf.ga.t of..
4. ?NCB PCT is respOtf 6Ily rerninde. that all impacts.: irc,luding. gist not li iied to, lmid iing, till.,
exec vati+ anti cleartng, tnjunsdictional Nxe~tlan&, st:rearns, and. nparian buflors ;€eed to be i icl_uded
ill the :fl tx3. rx} c leiilatic?ns. Ile.W.;Jmpacl; , in additXon to =.y cons_ ic;tion impact&, temporan?
ar othe a:se:. alp need: ta: be. i.ncltiYded as part: of t} e 4Q 1. ?'a.ter Quality CerttCcat on Appti auon.
?n
=',:a s;cra;cs:P:?arfitting r.:i °tll' Y
4asC I&F, Servk* Center. ada h.. Nartt C a 27 6 %365-0
2321 Crabtree 5.,)WOverd. 5;4250, Ra..*g{?, Wr4 Gareiina. 2771554
Piic : x'.1.7 47&, d FAX 51,G 1169 Z-.f :niemer..h 3 ?: t 2o.err.sis?e:?t:???cvsettarrds

. Sedtrz.e-nt.and erosion Con rul ;»ewsure.s s,'.houl.d :rtot.bie lilacid in v.'etlands or streams,
6.. Borrow '«<asie areas -should avoid Lr e lands to the Mattmia.M eXtx.t.t prac;t c; 1, impacts to Wetlands in
lxrrrow. ww-c areas will need. to be P-Tesern:tad in the 401 'W ate:r Quahtz C::ertit cation and could
precipitate cnmy?ertsa.tvey rz trsga :fin.,
The 40'ONVat r Quality Certification app cation w-,,11 Feed to spe6frcally ad, Tess the proposed
methods fbT s-tonnwater management: 4ore specifically, storinwa:ter will not ae pzr mitted to
discharge directly into streams or varfsc e waters.
S. Based on:1he.information presented in .the loci meat, the. rttagnitude o:fimpaetss to wetlands and
strearns ma. ), reijuire an Natiramv de.. (NTNV) application to.the Corps of Lngineers and corresmnding
401 Watetr Quality Ce;lifioati.or:. please be advised that a 40-1. Water Quality Cerfil#ica.ti.on. requires
sati,sfactor'- protection of water qualitv to ens.triv that .water equal ih. stan.daids are €tte:t and :n.o wetiaitd
or stream uses are lost. Final :pe<rrttit authorization will, require the subt.nittal of a farm. al application
by the NC;DO T and 1vritten concurrence: from the iNC'.MVQ. Please be aware, that any approval will
be:.com ngent (x. . n appi-opriate avoidatiee'attd min.inifzation of %vie and and. strea n irnpacts to th-e
xnammum extent practical-. the development of ,an acceptable ,!(-t mtiv ater .manageir:eni:,plan, and the
inclusion of appropriate mitigation plans wl,:ere appropriate.
9. If cor.arete *jased dunngv construction.. a dryworl area shotild be T. ainta:ined.to pre%ren, direct
contact between curing concrete and s.treain water- water that. inadvertently contacts uncured
concrete-should not be discharged to.§ mace xvaters dine to the potential. for elevated pal and
possib:lc aquatic life and fish kills,
1.0. .Ii.ternporarr access ,roads or de<e+urs are constructed: the site ball be Traded to its preco.n..strU0ioii
contours and elevations. Disturbed areas should be seeded or rnulc;hed. to stabilize the sail and
approppiate native woody species should be, pl:anted.. using mmpo:ran, structures the. area
should be: cleared but not grubbed,. C' leaning ihs area. wits c_ntin saA>s, rnowers, bush-hogs, or other
mechanized equipment and.leaving-the stumps a -d root rnrtt: intact all.,ows the area to re-vegetate
natural y and minimizes soil d.isturbartce.
11. Placement of culverts and other strue-wre-s tint wi4eis, strcams., and wetlands snail be pla.ced. below
the e3eidatien: of the. sireantbed by one foot. for all cttl-verts )vi,h a diameter greater t aan 4£ . nQhcs,
and 20 percent of the.cuNmrt diameter for culverts ha-Ong a diameter less than 48 inches, to allow
lgyv 1oWpasmge of , miter and aquatic life.. Design and placement of culverts and other structures
ineludi:ttg :tcmpora.rv erosion control. measures shall: not be conducted in ,a manner that. may result in
ais-equilibrium; of wetlands or streambeds or banks, adiacent to or upstream and dwNnn stream of the
above $ trticttzres. The applicant: is required t.ti provide e?6den?e. that the :eiltrtltbrittrtt is being
maintained tf requested. in NNzi'ting by DN Q If this condition is.unable to.be. tnet: due to bedrock or.
outer lttnittng futures encouz,terred`dur ino can .tructiun,. please cti-nitact the ',\:,C ) JWQ for guidance
-
on bow to proceed and to deterinire Nvbedier o= not a permit modification NN4.11 ?=se required
1?.. if mull ple pipes cat carrels are wequired dwy should be des.iCo-ed. to mimic natural strrearn cross
section as closely as.possible including, pipes or barrels at flood plain elevation arrdlor sills where
appropi iate. lV dening the stream obannel, should be avoided, Stream chan:nei.,vJoening at the inlet.
or oiflet cnd.of structures t;-pi:call,,° deer ases venter ---4locity causit.).g sediment deposition that
..regttfrts. iac_reased mairtteriance and disrupts a.gttati.c. life iiassage,
1 Sediment and erosion control measures sufT cient to prOte; t .cater resources ratust be. irrtplernented
and rnaintairZd in accordance with. the mast recent version of \`orth. Carolina Sediment Arid [ rosio:n
Control :Planning at-d :Design Manual and. the most..recent %ersion of NCS0002.50.
14. All. \vork in or a4ia- c=t to stream i raters should tom: conducted in a drys work area. Approved.BMP
inessurea. from the most current vtrsion ofNC:.DOT Cottstru.etion and. 10.aintenance Aetivities
manual such as sanciba s. rack berms, c:otf&dams and. other diversion strut sages should be Used to
prevent excavation, in :loaning water.
1_", While the use. of Nationa t?retlaatd.Tnventori' (N\NII) maps, C C'??astal Beacon) craluation. of
Wetland S:ni:[Y: ante ('34C.-CREW'S) maps and sti%I surrey maps are useful tools,, their inherent
irl2CC•urdcies require that. qualified personnel perform onsite wetland delineations prior to permit
approval.:
16, ..Heat/ egttipment should be olaerated from the bankrather than in strean, channels in order to
minimize sedi.htentaricin and reduce. the likelihood of in.trod.ucirig other pvllutanits into strrarns. This
equipment should be inspected dait And maintained to pre-vent contamination of surface waters
from leiiking fuels, lubricants, hydraulic luids. or other toxic: materials.
17. l2iprap should not:be placed. in.thc acti+ e .t}xa.lw e channel or placed in the stream, hed in a. manner
that precludes aquatic life passage. Dioengi.neering boulders or structures should be properly
tlesi n:ed,. sized. an&:instatled.
18. Riparian vegetabon (native trees :and shrubs) should be preserved to the maxim-uni extent possible.
Riparian vegetation must be.rees:tablished,vithin the: construction limits of the projtet: by the end of
the- sro ii;g seascan.fo.llo ing completion o.f con§&uct on.
The NCDA Q appreciates the. oppo . uni y to . ' id:e: corttriaents or, your project_ Should . y-ou. have any
questions' or re u.ire any additional information, please contact. Su:e F:W-mewood. at 36-771-4964.
cc: Ibltn. Thomas, US. Army Corps of Engineers. Raleigh Fieid Office
Eedpral.Hig. hway.Administrati:on
Clhri4.Ni.i:ltst her::E:riN'ironmenta:I Protection Agency
Nla.rla.Clianlbers,.1C Wildlife Resources Commission
Marel.la $uncie.k I's Fish and Wildlife Service
DWQ W.instan-Salem Regional Office
DW. 401 Transportatio.n.Permitting limit
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW
STATE NUMBER: 07-E-4220-0212
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD REGION D
REGION D COG
P.O. BOX 1820 .
BOONE NC
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION
CC&PS - DEM, NFIP 9
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS 4 ?•}
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES '
2uo
7
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION ?
REGION D COG ;
C*
O
F02
PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD: Environmental Assessment
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP No.
U-4020
The attached project has been submitted to the N. C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
NO COMMENT
COMMENTS ATTACHED
01
SIGNED BY:
DATE : C ^ 6
REVUE'sl rVK REVIEW
Please review the attached notification and indicate your response. If your agency requires additional information, contact the
applicant directly or call High Country Council of Governments' Clearinghouse. Please submit your response to the address below by
the due date indicated.
Phone: [phone]
SCH Number 07-E-4220-0212 Date 12-18-06 Response Date_01-03-07
Please Sign. and Return
This Page Only To:
High Country Council of Governments
Clearinghouse Coordinator
P.O. Box 1820
Boone, NC 28607
Reviewers:
Greg Young, Manager, Town of Boone
= P,
okc,; f= 9
Response: This agency has reviewed the notification and offers the following recommendation: (Check appropriate
response/more than one can be checked)
No Comment
v Favorable. The project is in agreement with the goals and objectives of this agency's programs.
Unfavorable. The project is not in agreement with the goals and objectives of this agency's programs.
Potential Problem (s). Identify:
Comments:
r
Reviewed by
Name: Agency: Date:
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW .
STATE NUMBER:.:. ;7.; 4 20-,0212 F02
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
MS RENEE GLEDHILL-EARLEY
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
ARCHIVES-HISTORY BLDG - MSC 4617
RALEIGH NC
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION.
CC&PS - DEM, NFIP
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
REGION D COG
• ? ?i'S i,? 1, %;
J% ?t'•.

^,JV
PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD:? Environmental Assessment
?.e? CCZ u 3 - a? 3
A ^
S - !'I y)
C
1Islo7-
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP'No.
U-9020
The attached project has been submitted to the N. C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
NO COMMENT
COM TS ATTACHED
SIGNED BY: ' I
DATE
T EC
EPA Review Comments on the Federal EA for U-4020, US 421 Improvements,
Boone, Watauga County.
This is a non-Merger project. The Federal EA was issued on 12/8/06 and comments were
requested by 3/1/07. NCDOT. proposes to widen US 421 to a multi-lane divided facility
from NC 194 to US 321 for approximately 1.2 miles.
Two alternatives were study in detail, Alternative 1 (4-lane divided) and Alternative 2 (4
to 6 lane divided). NCDOT prefers Alternative 2. Estimated impacts for the proposed
widening alternatives are as follows (Alternatives 1 & 2, respectively):
Residential & Business relocations: 1R/9B & 1R/9B
Church/Schools: 0/0 & 0/0
Wetlands: 0 & 0 acres
Streams: 100 & 100 linear feet
Riparian buffers: 0 & 0
Sections 4(f)/106 properties: 0/0 & 0/0
Archaeological sites: 0 & 0
Noise Receptors: 20 & 20
ESAs: 0
EJ communities: 0
Natural Heritage Program areas: 0 & 0
Air quality: No (NAAQS Attainment)
Terrestrial forests: 0& 0
Prime Farmlands: 0 & 0
Hazardous Material Sites: 6 & 6
Critical Water Supplies: No
EPA lacks objections to the proposed project and NCDOT's preferred alternative. The
Federal EA was .comprehensive and the Summary table of impacts (iii) was very useful in
comparing the two alternatives. A Nationwide permit No.. 14 will be needed by the
USACE.
EPA notes the extensive information contained in the EA regarding MSATs (Pages 30-
36). The proposed project should help to relieve congestion and improve LOS within the
project study area and should have a net positive impact on air quality, including MSAT
emissions. EPA also notes the project commitments for outside increased lane widths for
bicycle traffic as well as the adding sidewalks on both sides of the widened roadway.
Town of Boone
BO NE
North Carolina
May 25, 2007
Mr. Ryan L. White, Project Planning Engineer
NC Department of Transportation
Project Development and Environmental Analysis
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1548
RE: Project U-4020 (King Street Widening)
Dear Mr. White:
At their May 17, 2007, meeting the Boone Town Council met and discussed the Department
of Transportation's policy regarding sidewalk installation. The Town of Boone is formally
requesting that sidewalks be included on both sides of the road for the entire project area (including
Highway 194 to project end.) The Town of Boone will participate in the Department of
Transportation's cost share program for the installation of the sidewalks, where they currently do no
exist withing the project limits.
Please forward the necessary agreements at the appropriate time. If any additional
information is needed please contact me at [phone].
Sincerely,
G g Young
Town Manager
/fva
P.O. DRAWER 192 • BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA 28607
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE .u
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW;
STATE NUMBER:. 7-E;-4F20-.0212 F02
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
MS RENEE GLEDHILL-EARLEY
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
ARCHIVES-HISTORY BLDG - MSC 4617 RALEIGH NC
i•
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION
CC&PS - DEM, NFIP
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
REGION D COG

- 1 Z7 ` . s

PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD: Environmental Assessment
E2 c) 3 - ? 3
i
(y)
? Jslo'?
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street) ; approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP No.
U-4020
The attached project has been submitted to the N. C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
IN NO COMMENT
COM TS ATTACHED
L' -
SIGNED BY:
DATE : A • ( \ • D1-
TCC r: nj?p
EPA Review Comments on the Federal EA for U-4020, US 421 Improvements,
Boone, Watauga County.
This is a non-Merger project. The Federal EA was issued on 12/8/06 and comments were
requested by 3/1/07. NCDOT proposes to widen US 421 to a multi-lane divided facility
from NC 194 to US 321 for approximately 1.2 miles.
Two alternatives were study in detail, Alternative 1 (4-lane divided) and Alternative 2 (4
to 6 lane divided). NCDOT prefers Alternative 2. Estimated impacts for the proposed
widening alternatives are as follows (Alternatives 1 & 2, respectively):
Residential & Business relocations: IR/9B & 1R/9B
Church/Schools: 0/0 & 0/0
Wetlands: 0 & 0 acres
Streams: 100 & 100 linear feet
Riparian buffers: 0 & 0
Sections 4(f)/106 properties: 0/0 & 0/0
Archaeological sites: 0 & 0
Noise Receptors: 20 & 20
ESAs: 0
EJ communities: 0
Natural Heritage Program areas: 0 & 0
Air quality: No (NAAQS Attainment)
Terrestrial forests: 0& 0
Prime Farmlands: 0 & 0
Hazardous Material Sites: 6 & 6
Critical Water Supplies: No
EPA lacks objections to the proposed project and NCDOT's preferred alternative. The
Federal EA was comprehensive and the Summary table of impacts (iii) was very useful in
comparing the two alternatives. A Nationwide permit No. 14 will be needed by the
USACE.
EPA notes the extensive information contained in the EA regarding MSATs (Pages 30-
36). The proposed project should help to relieve congestion and improve LOS within the
project study area and should have a net positive impact on air quality, including MSAT
emissions. EPA also notes the project commitments for outside increased lane widths for
bicycle traffic as well as the adding sidewalks on both 'sides of the widened roadway.
- `
\.
J
,
1
'
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EIS RELOCATION REPORT
® E.I.S. ? CORRIDOR ? DESIGN
North Carolina Department of Transportation
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
WBS: 35015.1.1 COUNTY Watauga . Alternate 1 of 1 Alternate
1. D. NO.: 0-4020 F.A. PROJECT NHF-421 31
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: Proposed widening of US-421 Kin St.), NC-194 to US-321 Hardin St.
ESTIMATED DISPLACEES INCOME LEVEL
Type of
Displacees
Owners
Tenants Total
Minorities
0-15M
15-25M
25-35M
35-50M
50 UP
Residential 1 65 66 20 50+ 16
Businesses 9 21 31 2 VALUE OF DWELLING DSS DWELLING AVAILABLE
Farms Owners Tena nts For S ale For R ent
Non-Profit 0-20M $ 0-150 0-20M $ 0-150
ANSWE R ALL QUESTIONS 20-40M 150-250 20-40M 150-250
Yes No
X Explain all "YES" answers.
1. Will special relocation services be necessary? 40-70M
70-100M 250400.
400800 7
12 40-70M
70-100M 250-400
400-600
30+
X 2. Will schools or churches be affected by 100 UP 1 600 up 46 100 UP 100+ 600 UP 100+
displacement? TOTAL 1 65 100+ 130+
X 3. Will business services still be available REMARK S (Respond b N umber
after project? 3. Will not be disrupted due to project.
X .4. Will any business be displaced? If so, 4. A. Clyde Jones Auto Parts, 8700 sf, 6 emp., 1 minority
indicate size, type, estimated number of
employees, minorities, etc. B. Antique Store, 3000 sf, 2 employees, 0 minorities
C. Hardees, 2975 sf, 24 employees, 8 minorities
X 5. Will relocation cause a housing shortage? D. Ives Auto Sales, 845 sf, 2 employees, 0 minorities
E. Tom Ives Home Inspection, 845 sf, 1 employee, 0 min.
6. Source for available housing (list). F. Polaris, 6000 sf, 4 employees, 0 minorities
X 7. Will additional housing programs be
needed? G. Colvard Oil Co., 1625 sf, 9 emp., 2 minorities
13. Extra Mile Food Market, 2400 sf, 3 employees, 0 min.
X 8. Should Last Resort Housing be
considered? I. Blue Ridge Beds, 3150 sf, 9 employees, 1 minority
J. High Country Cleaners, 2400 sf, 7 employees, 2 min.
X 9. Are there large, disabled, elderly, etc. K. Boone Gospel tabernacle, 4900 sf, 2 employees, 0 min.
families? L. Black Bear Apts. Office, 3200 sf, 3 employees, 0 min.
X 10. Will public housing be needed for project? M. Massage Therapy, 1925 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
X 11. Is public housing available? N. Mexican Grocery Store, 1925 sf, 3 emp., 3 minorities
X 12. Is it felt there will be adequate DSS housing O. Trailway Cleaners, 7900 sf, 8 employees, 2 minorities
housing available during relocation period? P. Ski Rental Shop, 3325 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
l x 13. Will there be a problem of housing within Q. Dental Office, 9100 sf, 7 employees, 1 minority
financial means? R. Skin Studio, 9100 sf, 2 employees, 0 minority
X 14. Are suitable business sites available (list S. Appalachian Family Practice, 9100 sf, 6 emp., 0 minority
source).
15. Number months estimated to complete
RELOCATION? 24 to 36 months T. Survey Company, 9100 sf, 7 employees, 1 minority
U. Optometrist Office, 3850 sf, 5 employees, 1 minority
V. State Farm Ins. Office, 3000 sf, 5 employees, 0 min.
Continued on Attached Sheet

06/05/2007
4U-Ze -e
Date
Right of Way Agent Relocation Coordi for Date
FRM15-E Revised 09-02 onglnai a 1 copy: Relocation Coordinator
2 Copy Division Relocation File
EIS Relocation Report Continued On U-4020 WataUna Count
W. Pottery Store, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
X.. PC Medics Store, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
Y. Florist, 1995 sf, 5 employees, 0 minorities
Z. Winkler Plumbing Co., 1995 sf, 6 employees, 1 minority
AA. Beauty Salon, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
BB. Appalachian.net Online Service, 900 sf, 4 employees, 0
minorities
CC. Pantry Inc., 4441 sf, 4 employees, 0 minorities
DD. Country Inn & Suites, 15400 sf, 25 employees, 12 minorities
EE. Auto Repair, 7694 sf, 4 employees, 0 minorities
FF. Business Storage Building, 950 sf, 1 employee, 0 minority
6. Watauga County Board of Realtors MLS, Newspapers, etc:
8. As necessary in accordance with state law.
11. Housing Authority, City of Boone
12. Given the last resort housing programs and proper lead-time it is felt
that DSS housing could be made available to those persons being
displaced.
14. Suitable business sites will be available during relocation period.
Source same as for available housing (no. 6)
++ Anticipated that the majority of tenant displacees are Appalachian State
students.
' S
61-9-07
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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
May 3, 2007
Mr. John F. Sullivan, P.E.
Division Administrator
Federal Highway Administration
310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 410
Raleigh, NC 27601
Dear Mr. Sullivan,
LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY
SUBJECT: Proposed widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to NC 194,
Boone, Watauga County, Federal Aid Project No. NHF-421(31), WBS Element 35015.1.1,
TIP No. U-4020
CERTIFICATION OF PUBLIC HEARING AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is to certify that a combined public hearing was held for the subject project on March 13,
2007. A copy of the public hearing transcript is attached for your records.
This is also to certify that the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division of
Highways, has considered the impact of the project on the environment, its economic and social effects,
and the consistency of the project with the goals and objectives of the region.
Sincerely,
J,-4iGregory J. Thorpe, PhD, Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
MAILING ADDRESS:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
1548 MAIL SERVIGECENTER
RALEIGH NC 27699-1548
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
VWEBSITE: WWW.DOH.DOT.STATE.NC.US
LOCATION:
TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
1 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET
RALEIGH NC
526 with the school, there's going to be certain times of the year and times of the day when
527 the traffic is going to be pretty heavy. Anything that's not on that map, any suggestions
528 about changing traffic patterns, that would not have been addressed under this project.
529 That is something that can be addressed at the systems level with the RPO and with the
530 town of Boone. We will note those comments and make sure they get to the right person.
531 Under this project we would not be able to address that specific issue. It's outside the
532 scope of this project. We will pass that along to the appropriate person in Raleigh. Come
533 ahead, ma'am.
534
535 Beth Carroll: My name is Beth Carroll. My partner is a business owner. He'll
536 be affected by this.
537
538 I have a couple of easy questions. It's noted a proposed project. This is
539 definitely happening. Is there any chance that it won't happen? She'll need to move.
540 I'm not sure from this schedule if the right-of-way acquisition would be an appropriate
541 time frame for the business to move or if moving would have to happen prior to that
542 point. How far ahead of time might that be? When will she need to be out and when will
543 we know for sure what the time line is? Thanks.
544
545 Moderator: I would suggest that you do talk with Mr. Caudle. Jim, will you
546 raise your hand? That's one of those property specific questions that he can best handle.
547 As far as the schedule, yes, we may move that schedule up. It looks like we've got about
548 18 months between the right-of-way and construction. We're going to try to speed that
549 up. We want to go ahead and have all the right-of-way bought before we start
550 construction. We want to have that out of the way. The Relocation Assistance Program,
551 the work that our Right-of-Way Agents do, we're going to work as hard as we can to
552 have everyone moved and situated before we start the project. Each scenario with each
553 property owner is different. I highly recommend, now's the time to be asking those
554 questions. Let me know what those questions are, and I'll get those to Mr. Caudle so he
555 can start to address those. Jim doesn't have all the information in front of him right now
556 but he can start looking into it.
557
558 Anyone else? We're going to be here for the next few minutes. The
559 comment sheet carries the same weight. I appreciate everyone coming out tonight. With
560 that, I formally close the hearing. Thank you.
561
562
563 Hearing Adjourned.
564
565 Ed Lewis, Moderator
566 Public Involvement Unit
567
568
569 Typed by Cyndy D. Hummel
570 March 21, 2007
571

U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 12
s
478 decision as far as the relocation of your home or your business. It's a good program that
479 we have in place, Greg.
480
481 Greg Brew: (Inaudible)
482
483 Moderator: Sorry about that. I wasn't doing the math. Greg corrected me.
484 Greg Brew, our Roadway Design Engineer pointed out we may get out there six months
485 sooner than that right-of-way date. Thank you, Greg. Yes, sir, if you'll come up so I can
486 get it on the tape, I'd appreciate it. Greg did go to Virginia Tech. I went to State. That's
487 why he does the roadway design plans.
488
489 Edward Stamey: My name is Edward Stamey. I've lived here in Boone all
490 my life. They're taking some property that belongs to my Mom.
491
492 My question is a lot of these properties on the south side are going to be
493 chopped up, smaller areas to develop or build on. I'm concerned about what the town of
494 Boone, as easy as they are to work with you, what's going to happen in that regard.
495 Some of these places like on my Mom's property, it narrows down. Unless someone on
496 either side buys our property, we haven't even got a big enough place to build a parking
497 lot with set backs for parking cars or something. I'm concerned what may occur there
498 with the reduced amount of property that might be able to be developed unless people go
499 together and market their property. There's going to be even more loss to some people
500 than others.
501
502 Moderator: Thank you for those comments. Those are some of the discussions
.503 as far as how much of the property is the Department going to buy, that's something
504 that's part of our negotiation with our. Right-of-Way Officer. You'll be able to have
505 those questions answered. As far as what any other property owners could do with the
506 city of Boone, that's a local issue. Our Right-of-Way Agents are going to talk about your
507 specific property, what the impacts are going to be and what exactly we would have to
508 purchase from you. Any other questions that you have, they would be able to answer
509 them or direct you to the correct person to talk to. With Boone involved with some of
510. those local issues, we tend to stay out of. Come ahead, sir.
511
512 Wiley Martin: I'm Wiley Martin. I did own the State Farm Insurance on East
513 King Street.
514
515 I'm asking you, is the problem getting traffic out on football games on
516 weekend traffic? Have they considered going down 105 and cut straight across Horn in
517 the west and tie it right into Appalachian State University? That way you can get
518 football crowds out. You can get people into Appalachian. It would be a lot less
519 expensive than taking this whole corner. I wondered if they considered that? If you've
520 got the new high school, you can come up 105 or come from Cold Creek. It would be a
521 lot less expense and a lot less people being relocated. That's all I wanted to ask.
522
523 Moderator: I appreciate those comments, sir. You're talking about a system
524 level subject. It's not just King Street but the entire traffic network. What we're talking
525 about tonight is just those improvements along King Street. With the football games,
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 11
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
This may be a silly question with regard to the schedule. Although it's
indeterminate what time you begin, do we have any idea how long a project like this will
take?
Moderator: The question would be the construction time. It's always difficult
to put these improvements out there under traffic conditions. Trent, Frank what do you
think about, two years, two and a half years?
Unidentified DOT: (Inaudible)
441 Moderator: Two and a half to three years. It's quite a challenge constructing
442 these projects and still maintain traffic. We will have a traffic-phasing plan. The idea is
443 to keep the workers safe and the people in the cars safe while we're constructing this
444 project. Watch your step. State your name and address.
445
446 Jerry Idol: How are y'all doing? My name is Jerry Idol. I own Idol's Tire in
447 Boone. There's a man sitting right here that's been in business 54 years. I'm right
448 beside him. I've only owned my own place about 4 years. There's only going to be
449 about four businesses left on the left side. I've got seven employees to employ, not
450 counting all the jobs that's going to be took. We need to know as fast as we can what's
451 going to happen so we can plan. That's the only thing I'm wondering is how long is all
452 this going to take?
453
454 Moderator: If you'll turn to your handout where we've got the general project
455 information. We're looking at a right-of-way acquisition schedule of August 2008.
456 We've heard tonight that we want to speed that up. It's not going to keep you from
457 talking to one of our Right-of-Way Agents tonight. Tell them what your concerns are
458 and what your issues are. We do have processes in place that will assist in relocating the
459 business. With these type of widening projects, the down side is, we are buying people's
460 homes, buying businesses out that have been there forever. That's one of those things
461 that are hard, but it's necessary in order to get the cars out there a safe place to go. We
462 looked at trying to widen to the north side. The impacts would have been even greater.
463 The construction would have been more difficult. We also looked at trying to widen
464 equally on both sides. All that would have done would have taken out both sides. We
465 did take a hard look at this. The south side was the best side to widen to. There are
466 impacts associated with this project. It's those property owners and those homes and
467 businesses that are affected. Now is the time to start talking to our Right-of-Way Agents.
468 Go ahead and let them know what your concerns are. That way they'll have plenty of
469 time to address any concerns that you have. If we're able to speed the schedule up, that
470 right-of-way date could happen a year earlier. We'll stake that alignment on your
471 property. Our Right-of-Way Agent will come out and meet with you and talk about
472 options - how you're going to move, how you're going to value my property. Each
473 individual property that we deal with is different. It has it's own little things associated
474 with it. That's why our Right-of-Way Agents go out and discuss that with you. No
475 acquisition is the same. There's always something different that comes up. This process,
476 there's no black box associated with it. We're going to come out and speak with each
477 and every one of you, answer all your questions, so that you'll be able to make a good
U-4020 US 421-King Street page 10
383 to please consider the design, since most of the construction is going to occur on the
384 south side. I'm not saying push it off on the south side totally. If there's any way to save
385 this tree, I think it would be a benefit, not only to my family but the community in
386 general. I think it's the only yard in this corridor because everything has gone business.
387 I bet the tree is over 100 years. Having grown up there, I've flown that tree all over the
388 world. It's been to the moon. That tree has had a swing in it at one time. I've written
389 songs about growing up there. Please reconsider, because even though it's a temporary
390 taking, it's a permanent taking of that tree. There's a maple tree, also I beg for, but if we
391 can't have the maple tree, please save the oak tree.
392
393. Moderator: We have spoken to a few other folks that have flown that jet and
394 space ship. The situation is the tree is in the temporary construction easement. That
395 temporary construction easement is what we use to work on the backside of the road.
396 We've heard that tonight. It is on the record. That will be something we will be
397 discussing with our design staff and our local DOT staff. We'll see what we can do in
398 that situation. We have noted the location of that tree. Come ahead, sir.
399
40o Lynn Hagaman: My name is Lynn Hagaman. I'm the Sheriff of Watauga
401 County. I'm going to ask a question in a second. You go back and tell your daddy that
402 your brother and I climbed that tree.
403
.404 I do have a question in regards to public safety. With the medians in the
405 roadway, if there's an emergency for either police, fire or EMS, can there be a crossing
406 that would be safe so they can cross over the medians?
407
408 Moderator: Is there afire station or police station out there now? There's not a
409 fire station on the project.
410.
411 Lynn Hagaman: No.
412
413 Moderator: The only situation where we would entertain the idea of a median
414 crossing would be immediately in front of a fire station. I think with the extra lanes, we
415 don't anticipate that there would be any sort of additional delay in response time. In fact,
416 with the extra amount of lanes, the response time should improve. We have had
417 questions along those lines before. If you and the fire chief can write us, and let us know
418 what your concerns are, we'll certainly address those.
419 .
420 Lynn Hagaman: I can't speak for the fire department. If there was a
421 structure fire across, depending on where the hydrant was, they may have to lay hose
422 across both lanes. Just wanted you to address that.
423
424 Moderator: Thank you for. those comments, Sheriff. Anyone else tonight?
425 We'll be around a little bit if you want to talk to us one on one. If there's not any other
426 questions, I'll go ahead-come ahead, sir.
427
428 Bob Ducamera: Thank you, Mr. Lewis. My name is Bob Ducamera with
429 Prudential Mountain Properties.
430
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 9
335
336 Jerry Idol: (Inaudible)
337
338 Moderator: Please note that Mr. Idol's questions have been addressed. If
339 there's anyone in the audience that would like to come up and make any comment, please
340 raise your hand, I'll call on you. Come on up and make your comment or question.
341 Again, let me stress that the comment sheet is good for 30 days. Take it home tonight. If
342 you have any questions, send that in to me. Yes, sir. Come ahead, please.
343
344 John Grasinger: Hello, my name is John Grasinger.
345
346 I'm just interested in the height of the wall that's going to go in front our
347 two new hotels across from New Market. Even more importantly, what the wall is going
348 to be made of and how it's going to look. since it's going to be a primary introduction of
349 people into our town?
350
351 Moderator: Thank you, sir. We've had several comments like that. We're
352 really not prepared to give you height and elevation. If you want that information, we
353 can certainly get that to you. The look of the wall, we can take a look at that and address
354 that at our meeting that's coming up in about 45 days. If you have any suggestions,
355 please send those in to us. If you have a question about how high a wall is or how high
356 the road is in front of your property, ask us that question and we'll get that to you pretty
357 quickly. I've heard similar questions tonight about that wall and that's something that we
358 can discuss and investigate. Anyone else tonight? Yes, ma'am, please come up. Yes,
359 sir, sorry.
360
361 Unidentified Male: (Inaudible)
362
363 Moderator: Let me just make sure that I get this on tape. The question from
364 the gentleman in back, do the comments that you send in on the comment sheet carry the
365 same weight as the comments tonight? Yes, they do. If you talked to one of us tonight,
366 and you didn't write anything down,. we're going to forget that. One of my guys forgot to
367 pick me up today. I was here about 30 minutes late. So we're a forgetful bunch. Please,
368. don't think that if you talked with us, that we've heard you. We've heard you right then.
369 What we want you to do is fill out these comment sheets. That way we can make sure
370 they fully get addressed and they will. So any comments, any questions, you can take
371 them home tonight and think about it. Just get them in before the 1P. That way we can
372 fully give them their due diligence when we're trying to address them. Any other person
373 want to come up? Any other questions? Some people write better than they speak. They
374 don't feel comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. That's perfectly okay. You want to
375 come up ma'am?
376
377 Rebecca Eggers Grotter: I'm Rebecca Edwards Grotter. I'm an attorney here
378 in town.
379
380 1 grew up in one of the properties that's listed on the map. I guess it's a
381 temporary taking in the Green Hatched. However, there is one of the few large trees in
382 the downtown area and on the corridor that's probably going to be lost. I would ask you
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 8
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through movement to make this road last as long as possible and get the road to move the
traffic like it needs to move. A lot of you may say, if somebody wants to turn into my
business are they going to? If you're a business that they want to get to, they will. This
type of median, we've done studies, the affect is negligible on the properties. What we're
looking at is controlling the access, making sure that the number of cars that we carry
lasts for a long time into the future and we have a safe design to limit those rear-end
collisions.
We'll go ahead and open up the floor for anyone that would like to speak. I've got three
folks on the list. Once they've gone through, we'll give everyone else an opportunity to
speak. When I call your name, what I would like for you to do is to come up, state your.
name and address and let us know what your comment or questions are. We may be able
to answer them tonight, we may not. Let's be respectful of everybody's questions and
comments. If there's any other questions, anyone else that wants to speak and you
haven't signed up, you'll get a chance. So with that, Mr. Jim Deal.
Jim Deal: Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lakey.
My comments are primarily directed toward the timing of the project. As
Mr. Lakey is aware and certain others are aware, we are in the process of building a new
high school just to the east of this property which will be serviced primarily by this road.
That high school is scheduled to be completed and opening, and we're crossing our
fingers, in August of 2010. That's going to put more traffic on this road than what's
there now. We would hope that increased traffic would not have to be working through a
construction zone, trying to get to a new high school. We certainly hope that you will do
everything that you can to advance the project and move it along to where it is completed
by August 2010 as well. If not, the difficulties that you are going to experience with
construction are going be even worse. So we hope that you will certainly take that into
consideration. Thank you.
Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Deal. We will be addressing that issue. Mr. Ron
Henries.
Ron Henries: My name is Ron Henries. I'm currently on the Watauga County
Board of Education.
I want to echo some of the things that Mr. Deal said about this project. I
look around this room and I see so many people that are going to loose property because
of this. My heart goes out to every one of you. I was looking at the map trying to figure
out how many of these kids are going to be affected, trying to get to that new high school.
Six out of the eight school districts will be funneled through this channel to get to the
new high school. Only Parkway and Green Valley will be coming in from the other
direction. It's instrumental that we be able to do something to facilitate traffic flow
through the Perkinsville area. I'm certainly not smart enough to know if this is the best
plan or not. It's up to these folks to decide that. We appreciate everybody's support in
trying to get these kids to the high school as quickly as possible. Thanks.
Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Henries. Jerry Idol.
U-4020 US 421 - King Street
page 7
239 and sidewalks. There may be some culverts that we'll add on to the existing pipes. The
240 Candy Cane colored structures are existing structures that will stay in place. These
241 drainage structures here. The Blue stands for water. Pink or a Purple color will stand for
242 utility easement or a cemetery, things like that. We do have a historic property here.
243 That is a Dashed Line, but that's off the project. The project will have no effect on it.
244 That's the map.
245
246 The project starts here at Hardin Street. There's an existing signal that will remain there.
247 We are widening all the way to the south side. You may want to, in your handout, turn to
248 those overhead views of the intersections. You can see the number of lanes that we're
249 putting in to handle the turning movements. If you look at the typical section, we've got
250 a four-lane section, then a six-lane section. The six-lane section at 105, we've got six
251 lanes here, from here back, we've got four lanes. We've also got some additional turn
252 lanes. With the amount of traffic that's going to be turning, we wanted to separate that
253 turning traffic from the through traffic. That's going to help the cars and the trucks get
254 through there without having to wait for someone to make that left turn across traffic.
255 They're not going to be able to. Now you can do that with that two-lane you have out
256 there. We've got a concrete median barrier or a grassed median all the way through the
257 entire project. The only places you will be able to turn left will be at these signalized
258 intersections. What does that mean? That means that if you've brought a delivery into
259 Mountain Oil, you've come up from Greensboro, you'll turn in, drop your load, pick up a
260 load and then you'll come here. You're not going to be able to turn left because we've
261 got that median in there. We're going to ask you to come out, make a right turn, get in
262 this left turn lane, do a U-turn and get back to Greensboro where you're wanting to go. Is
263 that the only way to get around? I think a lot of folks know that there's some back roads.
264 If you didn't want to do a left turn, if you knew another way, you can certainly do that.
265 From a safety standpoint and a capacity standpoint, when I talk about capacity, it's the
266 number of cars we move through here. We are prohibiting left-hand turns out of any of
267 the businesses and side roads. What we're asking you to do is come down here and do a
268 U-turn where it's safer to do that. Some of you have been out there. today and have been
269 at some of these places. You haven't been able to turn left because of the amount of
270 traffic. You say, I'm going to go right and do a U-tum. We're starting to do this on all or
271 projects across the state because we want to keep traffic moving. We want this road to
272 last as long as it can. We're separating that turning traffic from that through traffic and
273 we're keeping everybody moving. You can do a safe U-turn at a signal because all the
274 right turns are separated from the through movements as are the left turns.
275
276 We've got existing signals at the major intersections - Grove Street, East King Street,
277 Delmar Street. We've also got a signal at Jefferson Road/NC 194. We've got a signal
278 here now that's going to remain at Forest Hill Drive. We've got a signal at NC
279 105/194AJS 221. We've got a signal here at Hardin Street. Some of these roads on the
280 uphill side of the road, there's not too much work we have to do to make them smoothly
281 tie-in to the new road. On the downhill side, the lower part of the road, you can see
282 where we're having to do some additional work on these side roads to make sure we've
283 got a good, safe design for folks turning out of and turning into that road. A lot of this
284 has to do with bringing the road up a little bit so you do have a smooth transition in your
285 car or truck getting up to the road. What we've tried to put in is a good, safe design.
286 We've put some extra lanes in there. We've separated the turn movements from the
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 6
191 be provided with assistance on locations of comparable housing and/or commercial
192 establishments, moving procedures, and moving aid. Moving expenses may be paid for
193 you. Additional monetary compensation is available to help homeowners cope with
194 mortgage increases, increased value of comparable homes, closing costs, etc. A similar
195 program is available to assist business owners. The Right-of-Way Agent can explain this
196 assistance in greater detail. We have representatives from our Right-of-Way Branch here
197 tonight. They've had an opportunity to speak with a lot of you. There's two pamphlets
198 that the Right-of-Way Office has put out. This one is "Frequently Asked Questions about
199 Right-of-Way Acquisition", and this one is "The Relocation Assistance Program". If
200 you're one of those property owners that are going to have right-of-way bought from you,
201 then this is the only one that you need. If you're one of those property owners that we're
202 going to purchase your entire property, then you want to go ahead and get both of these.
203 And tonight before you leave, touch base with our Right-of-Way Agents and get their
204 contact information, if you have any questions later on. You can send those questions to
205 me and I'll make sure that those right-of-way questions will get to those folks.
206
207 The last page, a lot of folks have already used it, it's the Comment Sheet. My contact
208 information is in the bottom right hand corner. You can use this form. You can mail it to
209 me. You can fax it to me. You can send something on your, letterhead. My US mail
21o address is down here. You can also email me. We are going to have available in PDF
211 format, this map. So if you do have a good computer system at home, email me and we
212 can get a copy of this map to you. If you do not have email capabilities and there's a
213 certain section of the map that you want to get a copy of, let me know and we'll get that
214 out to you.
215
216 We're going to go ahead and go through the map briefly. Then we'll open it up to our
217 speakers and anyone else. This is a public hearing map. What you see here is reflected
218 in the Environmental Assessment document. As all good maps, it has a north arrow, up
219 this way. It's got a legend. with all the different colors on it. We'll talk about what that
220 means. We also have these typical sections. This is what we gave you copies of in your
221 handout. There's different colors on here. The legend talks about what the different
222 colors are. The Brown color is structures. That could be anything from a home to a
223 businesses, to a garage, anything like that. The next color is the Dark Green color. That
224 Dark Green color that you see in certain places, that is right-of-way that is owned by the
225 Department of Transportation now. The next color is the Light Green color. The Light
226 Green color, without the hash marks is permanent right-of-way that the Department is
227 going to have to purchase. You can see with all the widening to the south side, there's a.
228 lot of Light Green in there. There's also Light Green color with the hash marks through
229 it that's a construction easement. Most of the time we need that to work and get the
230 equipment in there. In most cases that will revert back to the property owner. Sometimes
231 we may have to keep it if it's a drainage easement of some sort so we can make sure the
232 roadway has a place for the storm water to drain. The next color is the Gray color. The
233 Gray is existing road that's out there now. The next color is the Orange color. Orange is
234 existing road that is out there now that's going to be resurfaced. We'll resurface all of
235 King Street under this project because we are making it a smoother road from a design
236 standpoint. The next color that we want to talk about is the Yellow color. That's new
237 roadway. That's new pavement. You can see all the new paving is pretty much on the
238 south side. The Red color stands for concrete structures like the median, curb and gutter
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 5
143 If you turn to the next page, we've got some proposed project information. We've
144 discussed that. The typical section, those are in the back. You can take a look at those
145 that shows typically what we're going to put out there. The right-of-way varies from 100
146 feet to 140 feet. There is no access control. So each property would have access to the
147 roadway. Since we are widening to the south side, we have 63 residences that are
148 anticipated to be moved. We have 25 businesses that would be impacted by the project
149 and would have to be moved. Then there below, you see our estimated cost of the
150 project. Our right-of-way cost is just over $ 21,000,000, utilities cost around $ 700,000,
151 construction cost a little over $ 11,000,000, for a total cost of a little over
152 $33,000,000. The tentative schedule and I underscore tentative, is shown below. A
153 number of factors can affect a project schedule, so project schedules are subject to
154 change. The right-of-way acquisition is scheduled for August 2008, construction for
155 April 2010. 1 was informed today that the Department is making an effort to speed that
156 schedule up.
157
158 The next page is the Summary of Environmental Impacts. I won't go through those.
159 There's a list on the left and then on the right is the number associated with it. As far as
160 noise receptors, there's 20. The residential relocations, we show those. Critical water
161 supply total cost, that's just some information that's been included in the Environmental
162 Assessment that we used in planning the project.
163
164 The next page is the Typical Section. If you cut the road and laid it on end like you
165 would a loaf of bread, that's kind of what we've shown here. You can see the number of
166 lanes, four and six lanes. On the next page is some intersection diagrams showing the
167 lane configurations. Those speak for themselves. You can see the turning lanes.
168
169 The next page is just a vicinity map showing the project in relation to Watauga county.
170
171 The next page is our Right-of-Way page. We do have some right-of-way issues that we
172 do need to address. We do have some relocations that we're going to take care of as well.
173 After decisions have been made regarding the final design, the proposed right-of-way
174 limits will be staked out on the properties that are out there. The property owners can see
175 exactly how far into their property that the right-of-way is coming. At that point in time,
176 our local Right-of-Way Agent will call you and set up an appointment with you to come
177 out and talk about what that line means. He'll inform you of your rights as a property
178 owner. He'll fully explain the whole right-of-way acquisition process. If permanent
179 right-of-way is required, these professionals who are familiar with real estate values will
180 evaluate and appraise your property. The evaluations and appraisals will be reviewed for
181 completeness and accuracy and then the Right-of-Way Agent will make a written offer to
182 you. The current market value of the property at its highest and best use when appraised,
183 will be offered as compensation. There's four rules that the Department must follow.
184 Number one, we treat all owners and tenants equally. Number two, we must fully explain
185 the owner's rights. Number three, we must pay just compensation in exchange for
186 property rights. And number four, we must furnish relocation advisory assistance.
187
188 Relocation Advisory Assistance is the next heading. If you are a relocatee, in other
189 words, if your residence or business is to be acquired, purchased as part of this project,
190 additional assistance in the form of advice and compensation is available. You will also
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 4
97 spoken and written issues will be discussed at that meeting. We'll have minutes from that
98 meeting available to anyone that wants them. We'll also have a typed transcript of
99 tonight's hearing available for anyone who wants to see those as well. In order to get
100 those, contact me in and let me know that.
101
102 The State/Federal Relationship, we're talking about the funding of the project. It's 80%
103 Federal dollars, 20% State dollars. The Board of Transportation is responsible for the
104 selection and scheduling of the projects on the Federal Aid System, their location, design
105 and maintenance cost after construction. FHWA, or Federal Highways is responsible for
106 the review and approval of the previously mentioned activities to ensure that each Federal
107 Aid Project is designed, constructed and maintained to Federal Aid Standards.
108
109 Need for the Project. King Street is classified in the Federal Highway Functional
110 Classification System as a "principal arterial". Arterials are meant to provide a higher
ill level of mobility. However, the development along the project prevents it from
112 adequately providing long, uninterrupted travel that a "US" route is intended to provide.
113 Because of its location in the Town of Boone, US 421 serves the local traffic needs by
114 providing access to adjacent businesses. Due to the numerous through routes (US 321,
115 US 221, NC 194 and NC 105) that go through there, that intersect with King Street, the
116 project corridor acts as a funnel for traffic to and from Boone, the Tri-Cities in
.117 Tennessee, as well as the Triad and Metrolina areas of North Carolina. The current
118 Average Daily Traffic (ADT) on US 421 in Boone ranges from 19,000 to 39,000 vehicles
119 per day and is expected to increase to almost 29,000 and close to 68,000 vehicles per day
120 by the year 2030. You all know what it looks like out there now, imagine what it would
121 look like if we did not do any improvements. Based on traffic projections and without
122 the proposed project, King Street would operate very poorly with considerable traffic
123 delays in the future. Also, turn to the next page, during a recent three-year period, there
124 were 268 accidents that occurred on this section of King Street in town. The most
125 frequent type of accident was the rear-end collisions. The resulting accident rate is two
126 times higher than the statewide rate for similar highway facilities. With the amount of
127 'congestion, people stopping and starting, trying to turn left, that's why you have those.
128 type of collisions.
129
130 The Project Description. The Department proposes to widen King Street from an existing
131 two-lane roadway to a multi-lane roadway from NC 194/Jefferson Avenue to US 321/
132 Hardin Street. Widening is proposed to take place on the south side of the existing
133 alignment for two reasons. One, that it is more economic alternative and secondly, it is
134 the most practical from a design perspective. In addition, the intersections with Grove
135 Street, Hardin Street, New Market Street, Forest Hills Drive and Jefferson Avenue will be
136 improved. The project length is about 1.2 miles long. What we are talking about as far
137 as the standard number of lanes, King Street will be widened to a four-lane, divided, curb
138 and gutter roadway with a 17.5-foot raised median and five-foot sidewalks on both sides
139 from Hardin Street to US 221/NC 105. We will add additional turn lanes as needed.
140 From that point, US 4211US 221/NC 105 to just past NC 194, the project will widen to a
141 basic six-lane, divided, curb and gutter roadway with sidewalks on both sides.
142
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 3
49 how congested that road is at different times of the day. Traffic is going to increase by
50 the year 2030 to an extra 10,000 cars. What we wanted to do was go in and provide some
51 extra lanes so we can handle the extra traffic that's going to be out there. One of the
52 other things we do, with the intersections out there is to also provide separate turning
53 lanes. So the folks that are wanting to go straight on through won't have to wait for a
54 person to turn in front of them. Basically we're adding more lanes out there to handle the
55 cars and the many turns that will be taking place out there.
56
57 What is the Purpose of the Public Hearing? It's an on going process. We've been out
58 here before and talked with many of you about this project at a Citizen's Informational
59 Workshop. It's an opportunity for you to give us some more information about this
60 project, how it affects you, and what your comments are. Planning and environmental
61 studies have been on going. We've completed the first step with the Environmental
62 Assessment. Once we finish the public involvement process, over the next 30 days, we'll
63 complete the next phase document. It's called a Finding Of No Significant Impact.
64 We've had copies of the EA and the map available for the last 30 days at the Town of
65 Boone, Town Hall on West King Street. We've also had it available at the District
66 Engineer's Office on Jefferson Highway in Boone. They'll continue to be there.
67
68 The next place, Your Participation. That's very important. I had an opportunity to talk to
69 a few of you tonight, prior to the meeting. You were able to tell me certain issues
70 associated with your property. You were able to ask me questions. That is why we were
71 here. We wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to speak with you one on one.
72 We're going to be recording the hearing tonight. That way we'll capture all your
73 comments and questions that you have. We may not be able to answer them all tonight,
74 but we will eventually address them at a meeting that's going to take place in about 45
75 days in Raleigh. There's a lot of different ways you can give us your comments. One is
76 to come up tonight and speak into the microphone. On the last page of the handout,
77 there's a comment sheet. In the bottom left hand corner is my contact information. If
78 you have any question at all about this project, how the project affects you or your
79 community, anything like that, send that in to me within the next 30 days. What I will
80 do, if it's a design question, I'll make sure Mr. Brew gets it. If it's a planing question,
81 Mr. White will get that. If it's a right-of-way question, I'll share that with our local right-
82 of-way office here. Right now, I'm the point of contact. Everybody will see these
83 comments. I'll go ahead and send those comments out.
84
85 There's a lot of different people here tonight. Everybody's going to have their own
86 opinion. We're not here to argue. I'm not here to convince you that this is the best
87 project. What we're about tonight is to hear your comments. They're going to be
88 different. Let's respect each other's comments. Let's give everybody an opportunity to
89 speak tonight and let us know what their comments are. We'll all get along just fine.
90
91 Let's turn to the next page. What is Done with the Input? We read every one of them. I
92 had a project three months ago; I had about 1,400 comments that came in. I read every
93 one of them. It took a while. We made sure we addressed every one of them. We want
94 to address your comments. Get those in and I'll be sending those out as they come in. In
95 about 30 or 40 days we'll have a meeting in Raleigh and we'll discuss everything that
96 we've heard tonight and everything that we're going to hear in the next 30 days. All
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 2
1 OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEARING TRANSCRIPT
2 Combined Public Hearing for US 421 (King Street) Improvements
3 From NC 194 (Jefferson Avenue) to US 321 (Hardin Street)
4 Broyhill Inn & Conference Center
5 March 13, 2007
6 TIP #U-4020
7
8
9 Good evening. My name is Ed Lewis. I'm a Public Hearing Officer for the North
10 Carolina Department of Transportation. I'll be conducting the hearing tonight. I'd like to
11 welcome you all to the public hearing to talk about the proposed transportation
12 improvements to King Street in Boone. We refer to that project number as TIP Project
13 U-4020. So any time you talk to one of us, with the Department of Transportation, please
14 use that number.
15
16 Before we get into it, I want to introduce some folks that we have here tonight. We have
0 with us for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Board of Transportation
18 Representative for this area, Mr. Arnold Lakey. We also have Mr. Michael Pettyjohn,
19 who is the Division Engineer. We have Mr. Trent Beaver, who is the Division
20 Construction Engineer. From our Right of Way Branch, we have Jimmy Caudle and we
21 also have Daniel Miles. We have Ivan Dishman, Assistant District Engineer, Mr. Frank
22 Gioscio, who is the Resident Engineer. I think a lot of y' all know Frank. All these folks
23 are from this area here, so these are your Department of Transportation representatives.
24 They work in this area. It will be these folks that will be working on this project. From
25 our Raleigh offices, with the Department of Transportation, we have Mr. Greg Brew,
26 who is our Roadway Design Engineer. Greg's team is responsible for -the maps that you
27 see here tonight. Along with Greg, we have Mr. Imad Younis. From our planning
28 branch, the folks that are responsible for the planning of the project and producing the
29 Environmental Assessment, we have Mr. John Conforti; we have Mr. Ryan White, and
30 Zahid Baloch. We have Mr. Greg Smith, who is our Noise and Air person. Assisting me
31 .tonight, out of my shop is Mr. Jamille Robbins. I think we've covered everybody. We
32 also have Mr. Craig Hughes, who is one of the members of the High Country RPO.
33 That's the Rural Planning Organization. They take care of the local planning issues.
34
35 We'll go ahead and get into the hearing. First, I want to make sure that everybody signed
36 in and picked. up the literature for tonight's public hearing. If you did not get one, raise
37 your hand and we'll get you one to you.. Jamille will bring those to you, and Mr: White.
38
39 The way we're going to do this, we're going to go through the literature real quickly and
40 then we're going to go through the map, explain the map. Then we're going to open it up
41 for you to ask any questions or make any comments. We did have a sign-up sheet
42 available out front. So we'll go through those folks. Then once those folks that have
43 signed up have spoken then we'll give everyone an opportunity to speak also.
44
45 Let's go ahead and turn to the first page of the handout. What is the Purpose of the
46 Project? The project proposes to widen King Street to a multi-lane roadway from NC
47 194, Jefferson Avenue to US 321, Hardin Street. The purpose of the project is to
48 improve mobility and route connectivity through the project study area. You all know
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 1
US 421 (King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road)to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Project No. NHF-421(31)
WBS Element 35015.1.1
T.I.P. PROJECT U-4020
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
APPROVED:
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Date
Finding of No Significant Impact
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
AND
N. C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS
Submitted Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)

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regory J. Th e, Ph. D., Environmental Management Director
roject Development and Environmental Analys' Branch
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John F. Sullivan III, P. E., Division Ad 'nistrator
ederal Highway Administration
US 421L (King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road)to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Project No. NHF-421(31)
WBS Element 35015.1.1
T.I.P. PROJECT U-4020
Finding of No Significant Impact
September 2007
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PROJECT COMMITMENTS
1. TYPE OF ACTION .......................................................................1
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION .............................
A. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................I
B. RECOMMENDED CROSS SECTION .................................................................................................. .I
C. RIGHT OF WAY ............................................................................................................................. 2
D. ESTIMATE PROJECT COST ............................................................................................................. 2
III. SUMMARY OF BENEFICIAL AND ADVERSE IMPACTS .............. 2
A. BENEFICIAL IMPACTS ................................................................................................................... 2
B. ADVERSE IMPACTS ....................................................................................................................... 3
IV. COORDINATION AND COMMENTS ........................................... 5
A. CIRCULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT .................................................................. 5
B. COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT .................................................... 6
1. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ........................................................... 6
C. PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENTS ............................................................................................... 6
1. Public Hearing .................................................................................................................. 6
2. Summary of Written Comments ..................................................................................... 8
V. REVISION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ..........:.. ILO
VI. BASIS FOR FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ................ 11
APPENDIX
A. FIGURES
B. CORRESPONDENCE
C. RELOCATION REPORT
D. PUBLIC HEARING CERTIFICATION
PROJECT COMMITMENTS
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
US 421 (King Street)
From NC 194 (Jefferson Avenue), to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Watauga County
Federal Aid Project NHF-421(31)
State Project No. 8.17516o1
T.I.P. No. U-4020
Project Development & Environmental Analysis -Natural Environment
M Unit
It is anticipated that a US Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 14 and
Nationwide Permit 33 will be.applicable.
A. permit pursuant to Section 26a of the TVA Act is required for the construction of this
project.
A section 40General Water Quality Certification will be required by the North Carolina
Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (DEHNR) for activities
resulting in discharge into any of the streams involved with this project.
Roadway Design Unit
The outside lanes-in each direction along US 421(King Street) will be widened to 14 feet
i to accommodate bicycle traffic.
Sidewalks will be added to both sides of US 421 (King Street) within the project study
corridor. The amount of cost sharing will be coordinated between NCDOT and the
Town of Boone.
Location and Surveys -Branch
Two geodetic survey markers may be impacted by this project. NCDOT will
coordination with the NC Geodetic Survey prior to the start of construction.
Hydraulics Unit and Construction Unit
NCDOT's Best Management Practices for Protection of Surface Waters (March 1997)
will be adhered to on this project.
Stormwater runoff will not be directly discharged into existing stream channels.
Finding of No Significant Impact, U-4020 Page 10f 2
September 200
? ?_

;.
;.
Geo,Environmental Section
Based on field reconnaissance and a database search, twenty-four (24) sites were
identified that could pose environmental concerns for the proposed project. Six (6) of
the identified sites contained confirmed underground storage tank (UST) or above
ground storage tank (AST) facilities. The Geographical Information Service (GIS) was
consulted for the project corridor. The research showed no regulated or unregulated
landfills or dumpsites occurred within the project limits. If further design studies
indicate right of way from subject properties is to be acquired, preliminary site
' assessments for soil and groundwater contamination will be performed prior to right of
way purchase.
Finding of No Significant Impact, U-4020 Page 20f 2
September 2007
_ 1, _

US 421(King Street)
East of NC 194 (Jefferson Road) to US 321 (Hardin Street)
Boone, Watauga County
Federal Aid Project NHF-421(31)
State Project 8.17516oi
WBS Element 35015.1.1
TIP No. U-4020
1. TYPE OF ACTION
This is a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administrative action,
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the FHWA have
determined this project will not have any significant impact on the human and natural
environments. This FONSI is based on the November 2oo6 Environmental Assessment,
which has been independently evaluated by the FHWA and determined to adequately
and accurately discuss the environmental issues, providing sufficient evidence and
analysis for determining that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. The
FHWA takes full responsibility for the accuracy, scope, and content of the Environmental
Assessment.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION
A. General Description
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) propose to widen US 421(King Street) to a multi-lane
facility from east of NC 194 (Jefferson Road) to US 321 (Hardin Street) in Boone,
Watauga County (see figure 1). The project is approximately 1.155 miles in length. The
proposed improvements will widen US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane divided facility
with a variable width raised median (see figures 2A and 2B). The project also proposes
to improve the intersections of US 421 with Grove Street, NC 194 (Jefferson Rd), New
Market Blvd, US 221/NC 105 Extension, and US 321 (Hardin Street). The existing right
of way along the project corridor ranges from 40 feet to 6o feet wide.
The proposed project is included in NCDOT's approved 2007-2013
Transportation Improvement Program (T.I.P.). Right of Way acquisition is scheduled to
begin in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2oo8 and construction is scheduled to begin in FFY
2oo9. The preliminary construction and right-of-way costs for the NCDOT-preferred
alternative, which involves widening US 421 (King Street) to a four to six-lane divided
curb and gutter section, is $11,20o,ooo and $32,029,8oo, respectively.
B. Recommended Cross Section
Based on information from comprehensive studies of the natural and human
environment, engineering evaluations, and comments from all interested groups,
NCDOT recommends widening US 421 (King Street) to a six-lane divided facility from
Grove Street to US 221/NC 105. From US 221/NC 105 to US 321 (Hardin Street), US
421 will consist of a four-lane divided facility (see figure 3). The improvements include
constructing 12-foot wide inside travel lanes and 14400t wide outside lanes to
accommodate bicycles. The project also proposes to construct 5-foot wide sidewalks
along both sides of the facility. Opposite direction travel lanes are separated by a
continuous 4400t wide concrete median. The median will maintain a 3o-foot width
between the double left-turn lanes at US 321 and US 221/NC 105 because there is not
enough distance to reduce its width significantly.
The majority of the widening will occur along the south side of US 421. The
decision to widening along the south side was based off of several factors. A number of
churches are located along the north side of US 421. Also, impacts to the BellSouth
telecommunications facility would have resulted in a significant increase in the project
cost.
C. Right of Way
From US 221/NC 105 to US 321, the current right of way extends 20 feet from the
centerline on each side of US 421 (King Street). From NC 194 to US 221/NC 105, the
right of way extends approximately 30 feet from the centerline of US 421.
From NC 194 to US 221 / NC 105, the proposed right of way is approximately 148
feet wide. Of the 148 feet, approximately 73 additional feet will be acquired along the
south side due to the current widening plan. From US 221/NC 105 to US 321 the
proposed right of way width is approximately 115 feet. Along this section, the vast
majority of the improvements are along the south side of the project as well, resulting in
an additional 70 feet of right of way from the south side.
The proposed improvements will also result in the need for additional right of
way and temporary easements along roads intersecting US 421. In addition to the
permanent right of way to be acquired, the proposed improvements will also result in
temporary easements along both sides of US 421 to allow for the project's construction.
D. Estimate Project Cost
Estimated construction and right-of-way costs for the NCDOT-preferred
alternative are $11,200,00o and $32,029,80o respectively. The total project cost is
$43,229,800.
III. SUMMARY OF BENEFICIAL AND ADVERSE IMPACTS
A. Beneficial Impacts
The proposed improvements will result in improved mobility along the project
study corridor. The construction of additional lanes along US 421 (King Street) will
increase the traffic carrying capacity of the facility. The additional lanes (turn lanes
included) at the signalized intersections will result in a decrease in the delay experienced
at these intersections. The combination of the increased traffic carrying capacity and
reduction of intersection delay will result in a decrease of the considerable congestion
that King Street currently experiences. The project also proposes a raised concrete
median between intersections within the project corridor. The raised median will
require drivers to make a U-turn to access businesses and residences on the opposite
side of the facility on which the are currently traveling. By limiting all left turn
movements to the signalized intersections, impacts to traffic flow by vehicles crossing
opposing traffic will be limited. The proposed raised median will also provided added
safety benefits. The raised median will reduce the accident potential by limiting contact
by opposite direction traffic. The raised median will also act as a refuge for pedestrians
attempting to cross King Street.
The proposed improvements will improve mobility and accessibility for both
pedestrians and bicyclists. The project proposes to construct sidewalks along the
southside of US 421. This will result in sidewalks along both sides of the facility.
Currently, pedestrian facilities are limited to the northside of US 421. The project also
proposes to construct 14400t wide outside lanes to accommodate bicycles. These
additions will make the facility more pedestrian and bicycle friendly compared to the
existing conditions.
B. Adverse Impacts
The preferred alternative proposes to widen US 421 (King Street) along the south
side of the existing facility. This will necessitate the acquisition of the majority of all
properties abutting the southside of US 421 between Grove Street (immediately east of
NC 194) and US 321 (Hardin Street). Many of the businesses within the project study
area cater to students attending Appalachian State University. Businesses patronized by
students of the adjacent university may find it difficult to find a location to relocate to
that will provide the students with the same convenience and accessibility. Many of
these businesses also cater to travelers heading through Boone along US 421. Finding a
location that will continue to allow these businesses to attract through travelers may be
difficult
The preferred alternative includes a raised concrete median that will result in
changes in access for the adjacent properties and intersecting streets within the project
corridor. Access to businesses along the project corridor will be limited to right-in, right-
out only movements. Vehicles attempting to reach businesses or residences on the
opposite side of the street from which they are traveling will be forced to make a U-turn
movement. U-turn movements and left-turns will only be allowed at one of the five
signalized intersections within the project corridor.
However, case studies from the document "Economics Impacts of Access
Management" state,
¦ The majority of businesses report no change in business activity following
a median project.
¦ Destination type businesses, such as restaurants and stores, appear less
sensitive to access changes than businesses that rely on passer-by traffic.
¦ Because the likelihood of left-turns into a business declines as opposing
traffic volumes increase, medians or other access changes will have less
effect on the frequency of left turns into businesses on high volume
roadways during peak travel periods.
SUMA ARIZLVG IMPACTS
RESOURCE ALTERNATIVE 2
(4 to 6 -lane Divided Facility)
NCDOT-Preferred
Archaeological o
Architectural
District/Properties 0/0
Total Stream Impacts loo feet
Jurisdictional Wetland o.o acres
Endangered Species
Community 0
Terrestrial Community
Impacts o acres
Hazardous Material Sites
(Potential/Verified)
26/6
Noise Receptors 20
Prime Farmland o acres
Section 4(f) Impacts o
Schools* 2
Churches** 1
EJ Communities*** 1
Air Quality No
Residential Relocations ***
(Owners / Tenants)
1/65
Business Relocations*
(Owners / Tenants) 9/21
Critical Water Supplies No
Total Cost $43,229,800
* New Watauga County High School scheduled to begin construction Spring 2008.
* Hardin Park Elementary School located 1/8 mile north of project corridor on NC 194 but will not be
directly impacted by the project.
** Grace Lutheran Church is located at the western project limit. No property will be acquired from the
church.
*** See section V "Revisions and Updates to Environmental Assessment"
4
TYPE OF IMPACT IAMOUNTOFIMPACT
Air Quality The project is not anticipated to create any
adverse effects.
There are seven Federally Protected
Endangered Species Species for Watauga County but the project
area will effect none.
Hazardous Material Sites There are twenty-six hazardous material
sites but only six verified USTs/ASTs.
Low-income individuals were identified
Environmental Justice Issues along the southside of the project corridor.
Additional public outreach measures were
implemented to insure involvement.
Noise Receptors A total of 20 receptors are located within
the project study area.
There is one church and currently one
Churches/Schools school (i proposed) within the project area
but none will be directly impacted.
Jurisdictional Streams ioo linear feet impacted for the project.
Section io6/4f Properties o/o.
There is a total of 66 residential
Displacements displacements and 31 business
displacements (including tenants).
IV. COORDINATION AND COMMENTS
A. Circulation of the Environmental Assessment
The Environmental Assessment (EA) was approved by the North Carolina
Department of Transportation, Division of Highways on November 9, 2oo6, and by the
Federal Highway Administration on November 16, 2oo6. Copies of the approved EA
were provided to the North Carolina Department of Administration - State
Clearinghouse.
The approved EA was circulated to the following federal, state, and local agencies
for review and comment. An asterisk (*) indicates a response was received from that
agency.
Appalachian Regional Commission
US Department of the Army Corps of Engineers
US Environmental Protection Agency
US Fish and Wildlife Service
US Geological Survey
Tennessee Valley Authority
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources*
NC Division of Water Quality*
NC Wildlife Resources Commission*
NC Department of Administration (State Clearinghouse)
NC Department of Cultural Resources
Town of Boone (Chris A. Carter, City Manager)*
High Country Council of Governments
Watauga County Board of Commissioners*
NCDOT conducted a Citizen's Informational Workshop (CIW) on November 18,
2004. There were 44 citizens in attendance at the workshop. The majority voiced
support for the proposed improvements to US 421 (King Street). Handouts provided at
the workshop included a comment sheet, so written comments could be received.
Following circulation of the Environmental Assessment, a public hearing was
held at the Broyhill Inn at Appalachian State University on March 13, 2007.
Approximately ioo people attended the hearing and 12 citizens spoke for the record. The
hearing was not controversial in nature and there were no requests for major design
revisions. The majority of the citizens felt that the project was necessary and agreed or
had no negative comments regarding the proposed design.
B. Comments Received on the Environmental Assessment
Written comments on the Environmental Assessment were received from several
agencies. The following are excerpts of the substantive comments with responses in
Italics, where appropriate:
i. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Comment: "Hardin Creek is classified as C+; we understand the "+" to
indicate specially designated waters, such as Outstanding Resource
Waters, occur downstream. Boone Creek, Class C Trout+, is also in the
project area but not expected to be impacted. Trout are known from the
Boone vicinity, including the South Fork New River that Hardin Creek
flows to about one mile downstream. Hardin Creek may support trout, as
trout have been noted from other small-urbanized streams in the vicinity,
and a moratorium may be recommended.
Downstream of the project the South Fork New River is also inhabited by
the Kanawha Minnow (Phenacobius teretulus), Federal Species of
Concern (FSC) and Special Concern (SC) Kanawha darter (Etheostoma
kanawae), state Significantly Rare, sharpnose darter (Percina
oxyrhynchus), state SC; cutlips minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua), state
Endangered (E); seep medulia (Leptoxis dilatata), state SC.
Response: Best management practices will be utilized during the
widening of the road to prevent the accumulation of sediment in the
streams. This is a project commitment.
C. Public Hearing and Comments
1. Public Hearing
Following circulation of the Environmental Assessment, a public hearing was
held at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Appalachian State University's
campus in Boone, NC on March 13, 2007. Approximately ioo people attended the
hearing, and 13 citizens spoke for the record.
All of the speakers (12) were in support of the proposed improvements to US 421
(King Street) in Boone. Comments were related to the time frame for right of way
acquisition, relocation assistance, construction duration, and possible advancement.
Comment: "As Mr. Lakey is aware and certain others are aware, we are in the
process of building a new high school just to the east of this property which
will be serviced primarily by this road. That high school is scheduled to be
completed and opening, and we're crossing our fingers, in August of 2010.
That's going to put more traffic on this road than what's there now. We
would hope that increased traffic would not have to be working through a
construction zone, trying to get to a new high school. We certainly hope that
you will do everything that you can to advance the project and move it along
to where it is completed by August 201o as well."
Response: In order to limit the impacts of construction along US 421 within
the project limits on the traffic going to and from the new high school, the date
for which right of way acquisition will begin will be advanced from August
2008 to November 2007. Also, the construction contract letting will be
advanced from April 2010 to April 2009.
Comment: "I'm just interested in the height of the wall that's going to go in
front our two new hotels across from New Market. Even more importantly,
what the wall is going to be made of and how it's going to look since it's going
to be a primary introduction of people into our town?"
Response: The type of the wall and the exact height of the proposed wall will
be determined during the right of way design stage of the plan development. It
is anticipated that the wall height will range from approximately 12' to 21"'.
Comment: "...there is one of the few large trees in the downtown area and on
the corridor that's probably going to be lost. I would ask you to please
consider the design, since most of the construction is going to occur on the
south side. I'm not saying push it off on the south side totally. If there's any
way to save this tree, I think it would be a benefit, not only to my family but
the community in general. I think it's the only yard in this corridor because
everything has gone business. I bet the tree is over loo years."
Response: The tree is in or relatively close to a temporary construction
easement. Construction operations may impact the tree. Removal due to
location may not be necessary. There may be possible damage to the tree root
structure that could result in the loss of the tree. However, an effort will be
made to avoid or minimize impacts to the trees.
Comment: "I do have a question in regards to public safety. With the medians
in the roadway, if there's an emergency for police, fire or EMS, can there be a
crossing that would be safe so they can cross over the medians.
Response: NCDOT does not recommend constructing a median crossover
along the project corridor. The only time we would entertain the idea of an
EMS crossing or median opening is if there was afire station located within the
project limits. The median and the curbing will be mountable consisting of 5"
7
curbs with 2" lips. The additional capacity provided by the proposed
improvements should increase response times for any EMS vehicles or services
that have to utilize US 421.
Comment: "This may be a silly question with regard to the schedule. Although
it's indeterminate what time you begin, do we have any idea how long a
project like this will take?"
Response: The construction duration would be approximately 3 years (3
springs). The project may require some nighttime construction. The
maintenance of traffic will make construction more complicated and thus more
time consuming than if the road could be closed.
Comment: "I've only owned my own place about 4 years. There's only going to
be about four businesses left on the left side. I've got seven employees to
employ; not counting all the jobs that's going to be took. We need to know as
fast as we can what's going to happen so we can plan. That's the only thing
I'm wondering is how long is all this going to take?"
Response: If the schedule is able to be accelerated, right of way acquisition
may occur six months sooner than the current right of way date.
Comment: "My question is a lot of these properties on the south side are going
to be chopped up, smaller areas to develop or build on. I'm concerned about
what the town of Boone, as easy as they are to work with you, what's going to
happen in that regard. Some of these places like on my Mom's property, it
narrows down. Unless someone on either side buys our property, we haven't
even got a big enough place to build a parking lot with set backs for parking
cars or something. I'm concerned what may occur there with the reduced
amount of property that might be able to be developed unless people go
together and market their property. There's going to be even more loss to
some people than others."
Response: The department's interest is in acquiring the land needed for the
widening of US 421 and managing access to a practical extent. Right of Way
agents will discuss specific property impacts during the acquisition process.
Individual property owners are governed by local ordinances in regards to
redeveloping property.
2. Summary of Written Comments
In addition to the spoken commentary given at the hearing, NCDOT received a
total of fifteen (15) written comments. This was a combination of comments mailed in
and received at the public hearing. None of the comments received, expressed
opposition to the project. The comments received expressed the specific concerns of the
individual sending them in.
Written comments expressed concern about various issues within the project
corridor. There was concern in regards to large delivery trucks being able to access
properties along the project corridor. NCDOT expressed that proper delivery route
planning will allow all delivery vehicles reach their destination. The majority of the
written comments were in regards to the right of way acquisition and negotiation
8
process. Owners and tenants alike were concerned with the timeline and time available
to relocate prior to construction beginning.
The following requests were received from the Town of Boone. The NCDOT
response is shown in italics.
¦ Street lighting for the entire project.
Street lighting for improved facilities is to be paid for by the requesting
municipality.
¦ Sidewalks along both sides of the project.
NCDOT will replace any sidewalks removed during construction of the
improved facility. The current design proposes to construct sidewalks along
both sides of US 421 within the project limits. Per the NCDOT Pedestrian Policy
Guidelines (dated October 2000), in order for new sidewalks to be constructed,
a written requestfrom the municipality for sidewalks must be received by the
Project Final Field Inspection and commitment must be demonstrated by a cost
sharing agreement execution prior to the let date.
¦ Bike lanes for the entire project
The NCDOT Bike and Pedestrian Transportation Unit does not recommend the
installation of exclusive bike lanes in areas where there are numerous driveway
entrances and intersecting streets due to safety reasons. To accommodate
bicyclists, the project proposes to construct 14 foot wide outside lanes.
¦ Left-turn access from US 421 (south) into the Town of Boone Public Works
Center.
NCDOT does not recommend the constructing a median cross-over. Per the
NCDOT Median Crossover Guidelines, a median crossover shall only be
considered when the Department deems it necessary to service traffic generated
by existing (and proposed) roadways, businesses or other development; and
this traffic cannot be adequately serviced with the existing crossovers at
intersections, reasonable alternative routes or other access points.
¦ NCDOT to maintain the center median or contract with Town of Boone for
maintenance.
Per the NCDOT Landscaping Guidelines, the municipality is responsible for the
maintenance of the center median.
The NCDOT has reviewed and thoroughly considered all of the incoming
comments from the public and the environmental agencies. A post-hearing meeting was
held to discuss the comments and make final decisions regarding the proposed action.
While it is not reasonable or feasible to expect that all public recommendations can be
adequately incorporated into the final design, the proposed highway improvement does
reflect the prevailing consensus of the motoring public and their local officials while
serving the best interest of their welfare.
V. REVISION AND UPDATES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The following revisions and/or updates to the Environmental Assessment have
been made:
1. Changes in Preferred Alternative (see figures 4A and 4B)
US 421 (King Street) (cry US 321 (Hardin Street)
At the US 421 (King Street) /US 321 (Hardin Street) Intersection, the US 421
(North) approach will consist of three lanes; a combination thru and right-turn lane and
two exclusive left-turn lanes. The US 421 (South) approach will consist of one thru-lane
and a combination thru and right-turn lane. The US 321 (Northbound) approach will
consist of an exclusive left-turn lane, a thru-lane to facilitate traffic for Councill Street,
and an exclusive right-turn lane.
US 421 (King Street) 0 US 2211NC io5 Extension
At the US 421 (King Street) /US 221- NC 105 Extension intersection, the US 421
(South) approach will include a left-turn lane for U-turn movements, two thru lanes a
right-turn lane.
US 421 (King Street) @ NC 194 (Jefferson Road) /Daniel Boone Drive
Daniel Boone Drive will be realigned to intersect US 421 at the current T-
intersection of US 421 and NC 194. The realignment of Daniel Boone Drive will allow
additional access to the proposed new Watauga County High School that will be built
near the project. Along US 421 (North) an exclusive left-turn lane will be added to allow
movement on to the realigned Daniel Boone Drive. A thru lane from NC 194 (South) to
the realigned Daniel Boone Drive will also be constructed at the intersection.
2. Title VI/ Environmental Justice Concerns
Impacts to Identified Low-Income EJ Populations
The Community Impact Assessment (CIA) prepared for this project, dated
February 2006 identified three Census Blocks adjacent to southern project limit that
have an "above-threshold" level of low income individuals, prompting Environmental
Justice concerns. The high concentration of low-income individuals is due to the
presence of Appalachian State University students in the area. However, included in
these numbers could be "other residents and patrons of businesses and community
centers on East King Street." The CIA states, "if residential relocations are concentrated
on the southern side of the project corridor, these low income groups could be
disproportionately negatively impacted." that any improvements to US 421 along the
southside of project corridor." Per the Environmental Assessment, the decision to widen
US 421 along the southern side of the project corridor was based on the presence of a
large church along the north side, ease of construction and lower construction costs.
The decision to widen to the southern side was not based on the desire to avoid
Environmental Justice populations to the north of the project area. Subsequent field
inspections of the homes and businesses along King Street revealed a large number of
rental and student housing along the north side of the proposed project, similar in nature
to those citizens residing on the southside of King Street. Census Tract 9804 Block
Group 1, which is adjacent to the northern project limit, is a large Block Group that at its
10
furthest extent stretches approximately five miles northwest of the project area. Due to
the size of the Block Group, the demographic characteristics of residents living near King
Street are not revealed well by the data. Therefore, the demographic nature of the Block
Group obtained from the 2000 census does not specifically portray the composition of
the neighborhood along the project. Also, the 2000 census data identifies one area in
Census Tract 9804, Block Group 1 close to the proposed improvements to US 421 that
has a minority population two to three times the county average. It should also be noted
that of the 988 occupied units within this census tract, 459 are rented. Based off of the
diversity of populations, residences, businesses and other activities along King Street,
neither side of the street appeared as a clear choice for relocation, based solely on the
demographics of race, income, or other characteristics.
Public Involvement Efforts
Since there is a potential to impact Environmental Justice populations,
additional public involvement was performed. As part of the additional outreach,
NCDOT Division 11 staff posted approximately twenty five fliers announcing the
upcoming public hearing at businesses and apartment complexes in the area
surrounding the project. This effort was in addition to the regular publishing of notices
of the public hearing in local papers. Also, the ASU student newspaper, the Appalachian,
ran a news article about the project, as did the other local newspaper.
Public Comments
Public comments gathered at the public hearing included: concerns about project
scheduling conflicts with the new high school being constructed just east of the project
limit, questions about the material used in the retaining wall, safety concerns, access
concerns, aesthetic concerns particularly landscaping and the preservation of specimen
trees, compensation for relocations, the inclusion of audio traffic signals for the visually
impaired, and the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Further examination of
the public hearing sign-in sheet illustrates that there were a number of people who own
and /or operate residential and commercial property on the southern side of the project
that were present at the public hearing. Based on observations, examination of the sign
in sheet and discussions with attendees at the hearing, NCDOT Public Involvement staff
concluded that there were not any renters from the residential properties on the
southern side of the project present at the public hearing.
Available Mitigation Programs
The NCDOT Relocation Assistance Program is in place as a mitigation measure to
compensate and assist business owners and residents displaced by the proposed
widening. This program has three basic components: Relocation Moving Payments,
Relocation Replacement Housing Payments, and Relocation Assistance.
VI. BASIS FOR FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
Based on a study of the impacts of the proposed action, as documented in the
Environmental Assessment, and on comments from federal, state, and local agencies, it
is the finding of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal
Highway Administration that the project will not have a significant impact upon the
quality of the human or natural environment. The proposed action is not controversial
from an environmental perspective. No significant impacts on natural, ecological,
cultural, or scenic resources are expected. In view of the above evaluation, it has been
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t(,If rAppalC4RT
Christopher D. Turner
d i rector@appalca rt.com
828.264.2280 December 28, 2004
POB 2357 • Boone, North Carolina 28607-2357 • [phone] • Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] • Website: appalcart.com
Dr. (.;re,.ory Thorpe
Attn: Dion J. Viventi
PE Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
North Carolina Department of Transportation
PO Box 25201
Raleigh, NC 27611
TIP "U-4020
Dear Sirs:
1 am writing to thank you for having the informational sessions in Boone last month
regarding the widening of US 421 between Hardin Street and NC 194. As the
Transportation Director of Appa1CART the local transportation authority, I can tell you
that we-need a wider turn lane going South on US 421 where you turn left to New Market
Centre Boulevard. Several times our vehicles have lost mirrors to oncoming trucks while
we wait to make a left turn.
There is also a need to make a safe pedestrian crossing to New Market Centre from
Woods Circle at the' Unction of US 421 and New Market Boulevard. Many people in the
apartments on Wood Circle have no safe way to get to New Market Centre without
driving. All the bus stops are on the New Market Centre side of the street so it would be
helpful to have a pedestrian crosswalk. It would also be good to have a crosswalk across
New Market Boulevard. Both of these crosswalks should have lights and audible signals
as we have a number of blind people in the area who would need these devices to cross
the roads safely..
there shOt:ld be sirrilor redlestr:ae c''oss!"21ks at the US 421 and Hardin. Street
intersection, particularly getting across King Street to the corner adjacent to the Daniel
Boone Inn. It would also be good to have son.ie pedestrian facilities at the junction of NC
105 and US 421.
I noticed an error on the map. State Farm Road is shown beginning at the intersection of
US 4211 and 221. That is locally referred to as the intersection of NC105 Extension and
US 421. State Farm Road begins at the traffic light on NC 105 Extension and State Farm
Road.
Sincerely,
Christopher D.='urner
-1
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTAMNN
MICHAEL F. EASLEY 1501 1VLaIL, SERVICE CENTER, RALEIGH,. N.C. 27699-1501
GOVERNOR
January 8, 2004
The Honorable Velma C. Burnley
Mayor of Boone
Post Office Drawer 192
Boone, North Carolina 28607
Dear Mayor Burnley:
LYNDo TIPPETT
SECRETARY
Thank you for your letter presenting the Transportation Improvement Program priorities
for the Town of Boone.
Based on your request, we are modifying the scope of the planning work for Project
U-4020 to include improvements to US 421 from US 221 (105 Extension) to NC 194.
Board of Transportation member Sam Erby has indicated his strong support for this
scope change and plans to meet with town officials and the chamber of commerce to
discuss potential funding options for the proposed improvements.
As you may know, work has begun on the planning for Project U-4020. Due to the
change in the scope of work, we anticipate an eight-month delay in the right-of-way
acquisition and construction.
If you need additional information, please let me know...
Sincerely,
L?ndo .T ppett
LT/va
cc- Samuel L. Erby, Member, Board of Transportation
PHONE [phone] FAX [phone]
,O?V `BOG
O ?
October.14, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
NCDOT Project Development & Environmental Analysis Branch
FROM: Cynthia F. Van Der Wiele, NCDOT Coordinator
SUBJECT: Review of Scoping Sheets for Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to
US 221 (Hwy 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga County, F.A. Project NHF-421(31), State
Project No. 8.1751601, TIP No. U-4020, Division 11.
In reply to your correspondence dated August 7, 2003 (received August 11, 2002) in which you requested
comments for the referenced project, preliminary analysis of the project indicates that the following water
resources in Hydrologic Unit 05-07-01 will be impacted:
Stream (Index)
Boone Creek (10-1-4-4)
Water Ouality Classification
C trout +
The "+" symbol identifies waters that are subject to a special management strategy specified in .15A NCAC 213
.0225, the Outstanding Resources Waters (ORW) rule, in order to protect downstream waters designated as ORW.
NC Division of Water Quality has the following comments:
Environmental Documentation
The environmental document should provide a detailed and itemized presentation of the proposed impacts to
wetlands and streams with corresponding mapping. If mitigation is required, it is preferable to present a
conceptual (if not finalized) mitigation plan with the environmental documentation. Appropriate mitigation plans
will be required prior to issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification.
Desijen & Construction
The New River Basinwide Water Quality Plan (DWQ, 2000) notes that in Sub-basin 05-07-01, most of the High
Quality and Outstanding Resource Waters in the New River basin are found in the South Fork New River
watershed, despite the fact that 63 percent of the basin population lives in the drainage. These waters provide
.habitat for 24 rare, threatened or endangered species including three fish species that are found only in the New
River basin.
Furthermore, urbanization often has greater hydrologic effects than any other land use, as native watershed
vegetation is replaced with impervious surfaces in the form of paved roads, buildings, parking lots, and residential
homes and yards. Urbanization results in increased surface runoff and correspondingly earlier and higher peak
flows after storms. Flooding frequency is also increased. These effects are compounded when small streams are
channelized (straightened) or piped and storm sewer systems are installed to increase transport of drainage waters
downstream. Bank scour from these frequent high flow events tends to enlarge urban streams and increase
suspended sediment. Scouring also destroys the variety of habitat in streams leading to degradation of benthic
macroinvertebrate populations and loss of fisheries (EPA, 1999).
0 '?7oA
N. C. Division of Water Quality, 401 Wetlands Certification Unit,
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699.1650 (Mailing Address)
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604-2260 (Location)
[phone] (phone), 919-733-6893 (fax), (http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/ncwetlands)
Customer Service #: 1-877-623-6748
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins, Deputy Director
Division of Water Quality
.fl North Carolina Wildlife Resources
TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch, NCDOT
u;.i ?8---
FROM: Marla Chambers, Highway Projects Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program, NCWRC
DATE: October 29, 2003
SUBJECT: Review of NCDOT scoping sheets for widening of US 421 (King Street) from US
321 (Hardin Street) to US 221 (Highway 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga
County. TIP No. U-4020.
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is requesting comments from the
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) regarding impacts to fish and
wildlife resources resulting from the subject project. Staff biologists have reviewed the
information provided on the scoping sheets and have the following preliminary comments.
These comments are provided in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)) and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as
amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).
The NCDOT proposes to widen the existing US 421 (King Street), a 2-lane roadway, to a
five-lane curb and gutter facility from US 321 (Hardin Street) to US 221 (Highway 105
Extension) in Boone, for a project length of approximately 0.3 miles. An unnamed tributary to
Boone Creek, Class C trout, and an unnamed tributary to Hardin Creek, Class C +, appear to be
within the project study area. Boone Creek is classified "C trout +".
Current land use surrounding the project is primarily commercial and high-density
residential and is fully developed. Access management should address safety and level of
service issues. Transit, bicycle and pedestrian use and future expansion will need to be
considered in the project design. Sidewalks may be included on the south side of the roadway.
We encourage NCDOT and the Town of Boone to consider using non-impervious materials to
construct sidewalks, particularly in developed watersheds with a high percentage of impervious
surfaces. Stormwater management using low impact development techniques (see
WAf'--N'V.ic)AVinImlC;,it_'t; <<11_)1)j,i :_ir_ ,rg for information) in urbanized areas is also strongly encouraged
--......._.. - - -- --
NLailing Address: Division: of la;:. r.1 %= >iicrics R . -_ i i. {.. _,, .;rr • i ..... t;.?vC 27699-1721

US 421, East King Street
Boone, Watauga County 2 October 29, 2003
to minimize negative impacts to receiving waters. Alternatives to curb and gutter should be
investigated. Stormwater should receive pre-treatment and not routed directly into streams.
In addition, to help facilitate document preparation and the review process, our general
information needs are outlined below:
Description of fishery and wildlife resources within the project area, including a listing of
federally or state designated threatened, endangered, or special concern species. Potential
borrow areas to be used for project construction should be included in the inventories. A
listing of designated plant species can be developed through consultation with the
following programs:
The Natural Heritage Program
N. C. Division of Parks and Recreation
1615 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N. C. 27699-1615
[phone]
and,
NCDA Plant Conservation Program
P. O. Box 27647
Raleigh, N. C. 27611
[phone]
2. Description of any streams or wetlands affected by the project. If applicable, include the
linear feet of stream that will be channelized or relocated.
3. Cover type maps showing wetland acreage impacted by the project. Wetland acreage
should include all project-related areas that may undergo hydrologic change as a result of
ditching, other drainage, or filling for project construction. Wetland identification may
be accomplished through coordination with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE). If the USACE is not consulted, the person delineating wetlands should be
identified and criteria listed.
4. Cover type maps showing acreage of upland wildlife habitat impacted by the proposed
project. Potential borrow sites and waste areas should be included.
Show the extent to which the project will result in loss, degradation, or fragmentation of
wildlife habitat (wetlands or uplands).
6. Include the mitigation plan for avoiding, minimizing or compensating for direct and
indirect degradation in habitat quality as well as quantitative losses.
7. Address the overall environmental effects of the project construction and quantify the
contribution of this individual project to environmental degradation.
US 421, East King Street
Boone, Watauga County
October 29, 2003
8. Provide a discussion of the probable impacts on natural resources, which will result from
secondary development, facilitated by the improved road access.
9. If construction of this facility is to be coordinated with other state, municipal, or private
development projects, a description of these projects should be included in the
environmental document, and all project sponsors should be identified.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input in the early planning stages of this project.
If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact me at [phone].
cc: Marella Buncick, USFWS
Cynthia Van Der Wiele, NCDWQ
County of Watauga- JAN O 3
Courthouse, Suite 1 • 842 West King Street . Boone, North Carolina 28.61U .. ;E;WN
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Jim Deal, Chairman
William R. Winkler, III, Vice-Chairman
David Blust
Keith Honeycutt
Winston Kinsey
Telephone [phone]
TOD 1-800-735-2962
Voice 1-800-735-8262 JAN 3 - Ltd
COUNTY MANAGER
Robert E. Nelson, Jr.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
Anthony di Santi
December 22, 2004
Mr. Lyndo Tippett
Secretary of Transportation
1501 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1501
Dear Mr. Tippett:
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners instructed me to forward a copy of the enclosed
Resolution adopted at their December 21, 2004, regular meeting supporting enhancements for
the NCDOT project to widen US 421 (King Street) TIP Project # U-4020.
Sincerely,
Anita J. Fogle -l
Clerk to the Board
Watauga County Commissioners
Enclosure
Resolution In Support of Enhancements for the
NCDOT Project to Widen US 421 (King Street)
TIP Project # U-4020
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in conjunction
with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to widen
approximately one mile of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane facility from
Hardin Street (HWY 321) to Jefferson Road (HWY 194); and
WHEREAS this section of King Street is the primary entrance to historic downtown
Boone, a much frequented tourist destination; and
WHEREAS, Watauga County's economy is dependant upon tourism; and
WHEREAS, the proposed widening will displace or negatively impact at least one-half
of the businesses and residential structures situated in the right-of-way corridor.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT
to make special allowance for preserving the character of the primary entrance to
downtown Boone during the planning and construction phase of this project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT to provide
for the placement and funding of enhancements on this project to include, but not
be limited to, extensive native landscaping, sidewalks and bike lanes, landscaped
medians, native rockwork for any walls or. structures, aesthetically-pleasing street
lighting and signage; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Watauga County requests the NCDOT to make
every effort to work with the Town of Boone elected officials and staff to
preserve the community character while developing and constructing this project.
AS ADOPTED by the Watauga County Board of Commissioners on this the 21St day
of December , 2004.
Ji Deal
irman
ATTEST:
(SEAL)
Anita J. Fogle.
Clerk to the Board
c
°a,. ana
1
., ofrce of Nfl?*4
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resou
State Historic Preservation Office
David L. S. Brook, Administrator
Michael F. Easley, Governor
Lisbeth C. Evans, Secretary
Jeffrey J. Crow, Deputy Secretary
Office of Archives and History
October 20, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Greg Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
NCDOT Division of Highways
FROM: David Brook ='u.
Division of Historical Resources
SUBJECT: Scoping, Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to US 221
(Highway 105 Extension), Boone, U-4020, Watauga County, ER03-2131
Thank you for your letter of August 11, 2003, concerning the above project.
We have conducted a search of our maps and files and located the following structure of historical or
architectural importance within the general area of this project:
Jones House, 124 King Street, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
We recommend that a Department of Transportation architectural historian identify and evaluate any
structures over fifty years of age within the project area, and report the findings to us.
There are no known archaeological sites within the proposed project area. Based on our knowledge of the
area, it is unlikely that any archaeological resources that may be eligible for conclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places will be affected by the project. We, therefore, recommend that no archaeological
investigation be conducted in connection with this project.
The above comments are made pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's Regulations for Compliance with Section 106 codified at 36 CFR
Part 800.
Thank you for your cooperation and consideration. If you have questions concerning the above comment,
contact Renee Gledhill-Earley, environmental review coordinator, at 919/733-4763. In all future
communication concerning this project, please cite the above referenced tracking number.
www.hDo.dcr.state.nc.us
Location Mailing Address Telephone/Fas
ADMlNISTRA'rl0N 507 N. Blount St., Raleigh NC 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1617 [phone] • 733-8653
RESTORATION 515 N. Blount St., Raleigh INC 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 276994617 [phone] • 715-4801
SURVEY & PLANNING 515 N. Blount St., Raleigh NC 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 276994617 [phone] • 7154801
f J `.
?G?

HISToF:ic' ARC.HITECTL-RE. SECTION
Marti; Cruc:;in:r Dev nmer.1 of I*r.nnsponotion
N'?El? IOR'VDUI07
TO: Dior. J. Viventi, PE, Project Development Engineer
FROM: Richard Silverman, Office of Human Environment
SUBJECT: U-4020, Boone, Watauga County
DATE: January 30, 2004
CC: Project File
Attached is a signed concurrence form which states that NCDOT and SHPO, agree
that:
• There are properties over fifty years old within the project's Area of Potential
Effects (APE), but based on the historical information available and the
photographs of each property, none is considered eligible for the National
Register and no further evaluation of them is necessary.
• There are no National Register-listed nor any Study-Listed properties within
the project's area of potential effects.
Since there are no historic proper -ties affected by the proposed project, compliance
with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for historic architecture is
complete. Please notify us in writing if the scope of this project changes. A change
in scone may necessitate a new suriey of the APE.
F(:cch,rlli,-0# \IIiH-a2i(3) TIP# U-40211 Cr.;unt?. ?tiatau?a
CONCURRENCE FORM FOR PROPERTIES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR
THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF 111STORIC PLACES
f'rojecl Description Widoo l-S 421 (Kinf, ,St.) From C'S 321 to IBS 221 in Boone
Un Jill. 21. 200-1 reprc,cr.tduv-I-S of thr
North Carolina Department of'Trat: portatiom (NCDOT)
® Fcdcral Highway Aaminjstration (FHWA)
® North Carolina State I11storic Preservation Of ic:c. (HPO)
Other
Reviewed the subject project at
? Seoping Tneetin;
Historic architectural re;ourccs photograph re-view session!consultation
? Uthcr
All parties present agreed
? Therc arc no properties over fifty years old «ithin the preliect's area of potential effects.
Thcrc :ire no llropeT_t!es !ess thwi fifty year, old wj11Ch are considered to 'sect C•rltrria Considcrutlon G vrithin the
project's area ofp t.ntial effects.
® There are pmpenics over fifty years old within the project's Area of l vtehlial Ftffects (APE), but based on the
historical inti?n-natim! availabie mid the• photobraphs of each property, the properties identified as _1_ thru n 12
are considered not eli:,iblc for the National Register and no farther evaluation o2 them is necessary.
® There are no National Register-listed or Study 1_istcd properties within the project's area of potcati.tl effects.
NOTE: Thy Jones 1•lconsc• (:NIL) is not in the APE (or this project.
® All properties greater than 50 ye Lrs of age located in the APE have been consider°d at this consultation, and based
upon the above concurrence, all compliance fbr historic architecture with Section 106 of the National I listorlc
Preservation Act and GS 12.1-12(a) has bt:cn completed for thi project.
® There are no historic properties affected by this project. (Attach c,r;_,% nnt?s nr clucunrents us rtee!led)
Si,,ncd:

epresentativc. NCV(Yf Date -
f:hIWA, for the Division AdinmiNtrator, or ou ::r Federal Agency ate
/-7
Rept rntatiwe, III'O _- Date
State historic Preservation Officer ?"h4?1 D?llr
If ;ur cy n :pots is prcpsrcd. a final copy of this tt?nr, and the .:rushed 1 ist will be included.
1. The presence of intact riparian buffers and/or wetlands in urban areas can lessen these impacts and restoration
of these watershed features should be considered where feasible.
2. The DWQ requests that DOT use Best Management Practices for the Protection of Surface Waters (March
1997) throughout the design and construction of this project.
3. In order to prevent degradation of water quality,
¦ Phased grading and seeding plans designed to minimize the exposure of bare ground is strongly
encouraged;
¦ Storm water runoff from the project should be pre-treated to the maximum extent feasible, rather
than routed directly into streams.
4. Sediment should be removed from any water pumped from behind a cofferdam before the water is returned to
the stream.
Wetland and stream impacts should be avoided to the maximum extent practical. If this is not possible,
alternatives that minimize wetland impacts should be chosen. In accordance with the NCDWQ Wetlands
Rules { 15A NCAC 2H.0506(b)(6)), mitigation will be required for impacts of greater than 150 linear feet to
any single perennial stream. In the event that mitigation becomes required, the mitigation plan should be
designed to replace appropriate lost functions and values. In accordance with the NCDWQ Wetlands Rules
{ 15A NCAC 2H.0506 (h)(3)), the Wetland Restoration Program (WRP) or Ecological Enhancement Program.
(EEP) may be available compensatory mitigation.
Thank you for requesting our input at this time. The DOT is reminded that issuance'of a 401 Water Quality
Certification requires that appropriate measures be instituted to ensure that water quality standards are met and
designated uses are not degraded or lost. If you have any questions or require additional information, please
contact Cynthia Van Der Wiele at [phone].
Attachment
pc: John Thomas, USACE Raleigh Field Office
Chris Militscher, USEPA
Marella Buncick, USFWS
Marla. Chambers, NCWRC
File Copy
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
r Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
> I Division of Water Quality
Q -? Coleen H. Sullins. Deputy Director
Division of Water Quality
October 14, 2003
MEMORANDUM
TO: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Director
NCDOT Project Development & Environmental Analysis Branch
FROM: Cynthia F. Van Der Wiele, NCDOT Coordinator t.•L. ,:.? ., _.
SUBJECT: Review of Scoping Sheets for Widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to
US 221 (Hwy 105 Extension) in Boone, Watauga County, F.A. Project NHF-421(31), State
Project No. 8.1751601, TIP No. U-4020, Division 11.
In reply to your correspondence dated August 7, 2003 (received August 11, 2002) in which you requested
comments for the referenced project, preliminary analysis of the project indicates that the following water
resources in Hydrologic Unit 05-07-01 will be impacted:
Stream (Index)
Boone Creek (10-1-4-4)
Water Quali Classification
C trout +
The "+" symbol identifies waters that are subject to a special management strategy specified in 15A NCAC 2B
.0225, the Outstanding Resources Waters (ORW) rule, in order to protect downstream waters designated as ORW.
NC Division of Water Quality has the following comments:
Environmental Documentation
The environmental document should provide a detailed and itemized presentation of the proposed impacts to
wetlands and streams with corresponding mapping. If mitigation is required, it is preferable to present a
conceptual (if not finalized) mitigation plan with the environmental documentation. Appropriate mitigation plans
will be required prior to issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification.
Desirn & Construction
The New River Basinwide Water Quality Plan (DWQ, 2000) notes that in Sub-basin 05-07-01, most of the High
Quality and Outstanding Resource Waters in the New River basin are found in the South Fork New River
watershed, despite the fact that 63 percent of the basin population lives in the drainage. These waters provide
habitat for 24 rare, threatened or endangered species including three fish species that are found only in the New
River basin.
Furthermore, urbanization often has greater hydrologic effects than any other land use, as native watershed
vegetation is replaced with impervious surfaces in the form of paved roads, buildings, parking lots, and residential
homes and yards. Urbanization results in increased surface runoff and correspondingly earlier and higher peak
flows after storms. Flooding frequency is also increased. These effects are compounded when small streams are
channelized (straightened) or piped and storm sewer systems are installed to increase transport of drainage waters
downstream. Bank scour from these frequent high flow events tends to enlarge urban streams and increase
suspended sediment. Scouring also destroys the variety of habitat in streams leading to degradation of benthic
macroinvertebrate populations and loss of fisheries (EPA, 1999).
N. C. Division of Water Quality, 401 Wetlands Certification Unit,
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1650 (Mailing Address)
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604-2260 (Location)
[phone] (phone), 919-733-6893 (fax), (hnv://h2o.enrstate.nc.us/ncA,etlands)
Customer Service #: 1-877-623-6748
N-LD N+
R R-3 E I
V_ _?..:.
g"a JAN 0 3 2005
County of Watau,
Courthouse, Suite 1 • 842 West King Street a Boone, North Carolina 2a8Wi.i.?i= fRAN8p0RTA1-&
^FF?r?r is F THE SECRETARY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Jim Deal, Chairman
William R. Winkler, III, Vice-Chairman
David Blust
Keith Honeycutt
Winston Kinsey
Telephone [phone]
TDD 1-800-735-2962
Voice 1-800-735-8262 JAN 3- COUNTY MANAGER
Robert E. Nelson, Jr.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
Anthony di Santi
December 22, 2004
Mr. Lyndo Tippett
Secretary of Transportation
1501 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1501
Dear Mr. Tippett:
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners instructed me to forward a copy of the enclosed
Resolution adopted at their December 21, 2004, regular meeting supporting enhancements for
the NCDOT project to widen US 421 (King Street) TIP Project # U-4020.
Sincerely,
Anita J. Fogle
Clerk -to the Board
Watauga County Commissioners
Enclosure
Town of Boone
APR 2 7 2W
R E C t
MAY 08 1:;ui
Resolution In Support of Acceleration of the
NCDOT Project to Widen US 421 (King Street)
TIP Project # U-4020
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in conjunction with the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to widen approximately one mile of US Hwy 421 (King Street)
to a multi-lane facility from Hardin Street (US Hwy 321) to Jefferson Road (NC Hwy 194); and
WHEREAS NCDOT has announced a tentative project schedule of construction beginning in April, 2010; and
WHEREAS, Watauga County is constructing the new Watauga High School on a site accessed by US Hwy 421
east of the TIP Project #U-4020; and
WHEREAS. the new Watauga High School is scheduled to open in August, 2010; and
WHEREAS, US Hwy 421 (King Street) is the primary travel route to the high school site for residents of
Boone, Blowing Rock, and the western half of Watauga County; and
WHEREAS, Average Daily Traffic on King Street ranges from 19,600 to 39,700 vehicles (already above the
design capacity), and is projected to increase to 28,900 to 67,800 vehicles per day by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the accident rate for 2002-2005 within the project area of U-4020 was two- times the statewide
rate for similar highway facilities; and
WHEREAS, adding significant new traffic from the new Watauga High School to an already dangerous, traffic-
choked road that would be impeded by the U-4020 construction in August, 2010 would create an even more
congested and hazardous situation.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Boone Town Council requests the NCDOT to accelerate
TIP Project U-4020 so that it can be complete before or shortly after the scheduled opening of the new Watauga
High School in August, 2010.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Boone Town Council alternatively requests the NCDOT to divide
U-4020 into two phases, with phase 1 consisting of the section from NC Hwy 105 to NC Hwy 194 and being
complete before August, 2010.
AS ADOPTED by the Boone Town Council on this the 19`h day of April, 2007.
' ? fir--%.c'.G?r• ??tit?/ .: ?^-•-
j Mayor
ATTEST:
Town Ckrk
P.O. oPAWER 192 • BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA 28607
e.w SUrt^?
North Carolina
.,?'>
r
. '?
l?r ..
a

Department of Administration
Michael F. Easley, Governor Britt Cobb, Secretary
January 22, 2007
Mr. Gregory Thorpe
N.C. Dept. of Transportation
Program Development
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh„ NC 27699-1534
Dear Mr. Thorpe:

Re: SCH File # 07-E-4220-0212; EA; Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC
194 (Jefferson Ave.) to US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga
County. ? TIP No. U-4020
The above referenced environmental impact information has been submitted to the State Clearinghouse
under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. According to G.S. 113A-10, when a
state agency is required to prepare an environmental document under the provisions of federal law, the
environmental document meets the provisions of the State Environmental Policy Act. Attached to this
letter for your consideration are the comments made by agencies in the course of this review.
If any further environmental review documents are prepared for this project, they should be forwarded to
this office for intergovernmental review.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Ms. Chrys Baggett
Environmental Policy Act Coordinator
Attachments
cc: Region D
Region K
Mailing Address: Telephone: [phone] Location Address:
1301 Mail Service Center Fax [phone] West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27699-1301 State Courier #5 1 -01 -00 Raleigh, North Carolina
[e-mail]
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
LT m- WA
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
M r,bae.l F. Easley; Gouemo
NIEWGRrak'"al7um
4hry B•agget
FROM Me l ba m--Gee
C-c^rdinAtez
William G., Ross Jr:, Secretary.
?L}BJE%'ra ;r'^011 zt GS 421 i - St.,one, YiaL.auya Cr--u,nI.
Lr-E: va-n ar 19, ,2:007
Th:e cet\ar.tm.ent of P-i romment and "Nat.ulra'= Resources has she
propQse, ire orm.an on The attacImed . corume.n s are. f or the appl f rant,:' s
for th:e opporl'-?4n.itv to review;
Attachment
ne
601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North C;ar tina 27699-1-601
Wal-U.1carolipa
Phone-, 9.1943349:841 FAX: [phone]'! Internet: kvn"V.enr.state.rc,us, NRI Aqtumlly
n r5' . l.AlUtma. ?re ?? ? ? ? n a? a?ng?
?. E?u? ?JFpcafiw ? . U ? c :=?'R?G?wer • ?!. ?; «e?rf?i ' L .? ?? Ct?;'1?nmer ,
3 Forth. ar'ohna ildl fe Resources Commission -s, Richard B.. Harn-Mon, E ec.ui %4 Dire;cior.

'I`C): Nfeiba McGek% Environmental Coordinator
C)ffice of Legislative and r. titergtwernmenta) Affairs, D NR
FROM: Marla-Chwbets. V sten.`fDOT Permit Coordinator
Habi:tat: Conset.--N,,al ot Program, NCW'RC
D AT E- - Jan'MMY 1 ", 2002'
SUBJECT- 1Zev iett of the Eni .riramnental Assessment .tor the pr I ,w d. widening of US 421.
(Kiatg Street) to a multi-lar e facility from NC 1.94 (Jel:ferscvn Avenue) to US 3? 1
(Hardin. Street) .ire Boone, Watauga C"atxnl . TIP NO, U-41120. ()f.,IA No, U7-
0212, revised due date. 1
North. Carolina DeparUntnt of?: " ya-'tsportat,ion. (NIC:DOT"). has subrnitted for review an
11.rnvironniental AsSessment. (EA) docunie.nt for the stttaject project. Staff biologists with the
NNorth. Carolina. \ ildlifG Resources Cotnmi:ssi.on. (. CWRC.) have reviewed,thc information
provided. These -cornments are provided in accordance with th-e provisions of the National
Envi.romnental :Policy .'pct (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c)) wid. the Fish and Wildlife, Coordination Act
(48Stat..40 1,.a amended-. 1:6U.S.C. 611-66 d).
NC1).OT:proposes to widen 1.1:5 4271 ("king Street;) to a multi-lane, divided, curb-and-gutter
facility from IBC 194. (Jefferson Avenue) to L.IS 321 (llard:i.n Street) in Boone., NC Bor a Project
length, of approximately 1.155 miles. The :NCD,017's. Preferred a.l cniative is a combined 4 to 6-
Jane roadway N-vith vvidet outside Lows to accommodate bicycles and sidewalks provided on both.
sides Of the road. I`.mpa-c-ts for this alternative appear the uime as the 4-lane altetnatiN,e.
Approximately 100 feet of strean it ipacts are anficipat.ed to extend and join the culverts carrying
Hardin: Creekk and one if its uanan:wd tributaries tae= the l:.tS 421 . and NC 194 junction. Hardixl
Creek, is classified a C4•T -we under-stand . LI3t '?' to indicate specially designated va`atez?. such as
Outstahding Resource Wtiters, occ,-ur dovNNnstream, Boone Creel;, Class C Trout is also in the
project area, but. is not. expected to he impacted.. Trout arc kno,+v-n tron-i the Boone. vicinity;
hiclud:ing.the South., Fork:. New River that 1-lardi.n. Creek flows to ab-mit one mile; downstream.
Nlaihn. g.Ad recs. Di--vision of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Serri,u.e C-enter R Raleigh NC 2 x'699? 1, 21
Telephone [phone] - Fox. (919) 0*17-0028
U-4020, LIS 4<i tKinz,. Strzc° ;
f.?;a ki.Ett C.r ek, I-Vatiw p C(:,
a arttasrry l ?, ? £iCi^
Hardin. Creek may .suppart trout., as trout have been nowd. born ether --.m a urbanized. streams in
the vidnjvy and. a nioratoriu rt'may be recommended.
Downstream of the project they So:uih Fork New River is also inhabited. b), the Kanawha anrilzto
tl'1'r.enacobh,rs u4l-e lilt .? i. T ederal Specie of Concern (T'SC:) and state Special Ccacac:erat 4SC'.?;
Kanawha, deer honm- r'uze), stater Significantly Rave; sharpnose diner ji.Pt'I'cini ..
axyrkynchusl., state, SCcutlips ininriom. l Exoglo:rsum ncax.llrr??ud,l, state I ndangered (L); seep
niudalia (Leptoxi ct?alalwo,). state Threatened green floater (La>smrgana suhvir.du ). FSC and
state E. and spike (Ellipx io c ilu crttr ), state SC_ Sediment and erosion control and. storm water
treatment: -M.11 be,important for this. project. Sediment. and. erosion control measures should.
adhere :to the design. standards Rr sensitive -, atersheds. The curb-acid-gutter: facility will,carry
polltatapt-laden =off from this highly urbanized. area to nearby st'r=ns; stornamvater treatment
fxonl the roadl Nl-ay project. naust..be maxiT nized and is .ytrongl.y7' en. cowag d for area development..
i cr.ous studies has shown that wheal 10--15% of a mvatershed is u,,onverted to i.cnpen-:taus
surfaces; there is a seriou4 deck to i.n the health of recxiving . waters (Sehuel:er 19-94) and. the
quality-of fish, habitat: and -A.,etlands arenegatively. impacted (Booth 1991. raylor 1993). We
recommend .a the totial officials. re?qui strong s orriaxyate:r ccmtrols for dev l.o:pment. i.tt the
'vici.naty- zand. use loNv impact aimpact de'v"cloprrent teecbnlg.ues (see k?ttiy? 1???-in?ctcl???el?}?inectt.c?z?a for
%nforniat on) to rn ge st.onmvater qu ntity duel: quality. We e-ncourappe 01- and local
offict is use rion d pervious materials to construct side??:?alk.s: parkdrig lugs, and other facilities,
parttc:ularly in devellopittg Nvatershedi an.d those witli a. high percentage of .impervious Surfaces.
?%l;easarres to rni ig to ae tarrdstzy7 atad cum.latav? napac:ts can lac ft?tind in the t uidance
feincarata,dtan to: Address . and N11h*gate Secondary- and Cumulative ltnpacis to Aquatic and
Tcrrestrial 4r; ildlife Res:ourc.es. and Water: Quality (NC'WRC 0()?:).
'7.11;arttk. yoaa;fiyr tTl.e c?pportaxrrity i;?r rep=iec?? and ec?:mc?eztt can this p,t.?,.ct.i, l#' ??rni has<? ait' ?uest??ns
regarding these gcmmri ents.. please coma ti ant at(704),545-;11=11.
Literature Cited:
,Booth, D. 1991.. Urbanization and the nat:itral drwnage system-finpad:s, solutic ns, and
prognoses. North-west.. t n vironniental Joumal. 7(J),'93L115.
NCB' RC .(North. Carolina. Wildlife Res.o rces Coaitmissibn), 2002. Guidance Memoranduni to
Address and Mitigate Secondary. and Cuint;.lat ve lmpacis. to Aquatic and Terrestrial
Wildlife Resources and Water Quality, NCWRC, Ra:lcii h, available:
Jattf+ , . ??ti ca:.ztc?t iltlii:Tc.trr `.pZQ'7 N1'ildfi SpeciesCc)rarlaS' I
irrtl+aaeis,Pdf (.1 ebrc aary
20033)
Sch.ueler, 'Coitx.. 194 - The. .l;nipcartan. of lxryper+lotrsaless:. Watershed. Protection Techtaitlu?s,
13 (P1i)0-.111).
T'lvlor, B.T 1993'. Tb` ' influences of-,?vetland aand ? ershed.r?zcrtspllca.l.oaica'1 characteristics and
relatrct*zslxcp to wetland 'L etatiov cocn.n?unities, i??Iaste3t tlaes%s. Dept.. of Civil
1?a ganc e:rIn l :ntvers.ity° of Washington. Seattle:, 1Y .
U-4020. US 4 21 (Kirl. t Strkel j
1-lardla Creek- i?.atusuga. Co, - :+ Janu?c?' )', 2007
o.t: Marella Bunci k. IJSMS
Su.e.Horneti1 ood, NCDWQ
Angie R.odg rs,. `JCNHP
Q?
t:lzhael F Easley, GoveMnry
1v:gkorn G . Ross secrela?z
Noah ;,'a: rt'U:$ i+ 3 fi^A of EmIrv`vs mein o +s % ata.W Resmirc's
Alar. W..Kftek, PE. Dire=
vivisaon of Water Quati.:r
Jamiary 2.2007

To: itTelba: N3c.C ee
Fr-o'm $lum flomewood_ Division Of Wa e-T c aal t- . Winston-Salem Regicm-al Office:
5al jec t: Comment cm the n«ru.nn, ental .•Afines .ment related to proposed US 4:21 from existing
LAIC, 194. to existiti#. US 32'1, Watuaga County, pyderal Aid Pro, jest No. NTHF-- 21(,31
State p'rq eet NNo. S:1 a 1601, TIP Ur-4020, DEER Project *'01-01212 (due date: 1-.IV0 f).
7`l4office h rev i.ewed.the retercnecd document dated Nlovembrr 16,:'2006. The DiVi.sion of Water
QaaliN (.D'* :Q) is. r•espohslble.for the t-ssuance of the Section. 401 Water Quality Certifi:-ation for
3ctty tiles. that atnp2 t 'L°aters of the 2.$,., in; .l?sdi is wetlands. his our undm. tantlt.m the project as
presented will. Fc5611.'in impacts to jurisdictional Nr:•etdactds, simatr!:a;. and other surface ea-ter%. The DWQ
offers the folloN iris comments based on review of the document:.
i . Future environmental documenu; , including the 4.01. Water Quality Certifxeation. Appli.,:ation, should.
pm-ride a detailed and itemizcd presentation of the proposed impacts to wedands. and strea:nrns xvi1h
cc` pg. pondm ri Aping 1f rttftl* iori is nn essaz ?`.as requ red by 1 SA NC`.?G 2H.0506 { i}, it is
pr feratil€ a. rresenta conceptual (fnot finahze ) miti tiota plain'Mth.the environtne aL
do 'urlleti..ratt rt: k prapria rnit':gation plans t?tl:l. be rewired prior to. issuance of .'a 401 Water
After the selection of.the preferred alternative and :prior to. ar tss.t ance. of the 401 Water Quality
Certification, ttte NCD0T is respccifully reminded that: they will need tai demon; Mme . he,.voida;tce
and: minimization of impacts to w ilands (arid: strc:.ains-) to the rrtax:itn tm .r xtrn : praetirs;., 171
ac.cordar..cz with the Environ ntsl Management: Commission's Rules .f ISAI C.'AC 2H:.05D.0{11),.,
nutigapon will:be rc ulred ior impacts c-, mater than 1 acre to e-lands. In the event that
miiigatipn. i require,d, th:e nuugAt'1.on plan shx)ul.d lac desiVIaed.'tc rep.laCe appropurmte load f'unction8
anal glues.. The. NC Up$ stern. ?i'hancement Prpgrana may be available for u:se as Weiland
__ In accordance m nth the pnviron mal. Management Commission's Rules (I y A.',_C AC"
2.H. SfiC h} m.it atit?t3. vui.li: u re aa3red terim ac s of cater than: 1501:Sr ear. feet to any single
p Tenn.i'al stream. 1n. the even#: that mitigation is required, the mitiga.i on plan should be -signed to
replace appropriate. IPA Nncti(mriw and Values,. `lase NC Ecosystem Enhancer: ent Program may be
availal le foi- use as stream rtnit0Ca.t on,
4. '4C D0T :is re$T)otziul:iv re:min.dedt t: all inlets.: €ncl tiding. best not I -.flied to, b idga & fill.,
excavation. xnd clearing, to junWictiot.+.al V exlands, streams, ard.npar an:buzters need to bei acluded
in the 1ihal. itripaa calculatiom . Th w tmpac# , itz flddl 4ti ter and constt it ti.oh impacts, ten>p rar
oiY other?4?i:sr<.al,4o treed: tci be. included as pars afthe ? 1. Z?'ater Qual.itCertt?cai>.on Q,.??ptication..
Tm?vwnombjovPeqniton
Si C M90 SOrke GOr, t r, RaWgh., 00.M f Ca a 27,6%-4650
4V Ciacaee a%.Ievard. SkAW, 230. Fa a qt, Nora Caro-Ma. V ?A
Pnc-om: SQyu-?33.1788,?l,AX5419-7?3fic?s€??E^ae:.tali.,t;2a.err.siate::?F.e:S;'flcrxettands

. Seditnc-nt.ar:d erosion conTol nw- suTes Oould..notbee Dilated In weda; ds. or etrearns.
6. Borrow;'-,N-aste areas should. avoid weil ands to the maximum, extent practical. Impacts to wetlands :in
borrow,''rz3?*i_ areas will need to be presented. in the' 4,01, U'atter Quality. Certification and could
prccip. iate co penaa.iory mitigation,
7. The 40.1.1 at: r. Quality Certification application tknul need to spe::ci.fically address the proposed
rnethods fo s-tomi ater managennent. 'Sore spocifically, stonnwa:ter will not be pen-nutted to
discharge directly into streams or s+urft= Waters.
S. Haled on..Xl#.e.inforrna.ticari: pre exited th. the do=ment, the 11.1"agztitude o:firnpa.4rs to wetlands an:d
streams xnay require an 1latiranw-idc: appli4atiai: lo. the Corps of l`lngirieety and ciorrespondin
401 water Quality Certific:atior. Fkase be advised that a 401. Water Quality Cerdfica.t on requires
safisfactcarti° protection of water quality to ens.uro that water quality. standards are met and no w'edand
or streaM uses are lost.. final permit authorization will. require the submittal of a formal application
by the NCDOT and w~tatten concurrence from the iNCDAN' Q, Please be atiware. that any approval will
b16 rotiatingent Sri. 4pl7 priate i oh ance and mininiization of ietland and. stream.-impacts to the
maximum extent pray tical,. the development of an aceipmbl:e st'cjrmti? titer .txiaria?erxierit.: plan. and. the
tnr•lusion of apprpp.na e tn.itigai on plar -s wbe-r e appropriate,
9.: If cbrerete is.used duriit. construction.. a dry work area should be maintained.to preven, direct
contartbet meeh curer concrete and stream water. Water that inadvertently contacts uncured
concrete. shciut.d. not be discharged. to suftace. waters due To the cote:ntiat f or ele-vated pH and
posS.ible aquatic life anal fish ki.l:ls:
1:0. .1f.tertaS?orar4' access reads or de8c?ur a, e c-onstructcu: the site shall. be ,Traded to 4s precQ;n:s#rtic.tlo.73.
contours and elevations. Disturbed areasshould be seeded orrriulched. to rtabili7e the soil and
approprigte nati?, %6odu spies should be. planted. ?Anwn. using temporary structures the area
should.be cleared but not g+rubbed. Clearing the. Brea ?i'irl`? °clxa,:n sa.? s, rnowev-,,, bush-hogs, or other
mechanized equipment and leaping the stumps and.root rpot'mrect allows: the area to re-vegetate
na.tur,Tt%. and inimizts soil ?.isturbantt',
1.1: Placement ofcialverts and other struct sk att. waters. strearns, and . wetlands sir all be placed below-
tl'i: elevation.. 'of the streanibed by one foot. for all culverts «ith a diarneter greater than 48 inches;
and `2fl..pereccst of tbe.culvest diametcr fpr culverts haNinc a diameter. less than 48 inches, to al.l.ow
lour flow j)assage of Neater and aquatic life. Design and placennent of culverts and other structures
including :temporan= erosion. contr 4 measures Shall: not be cand=ed in a manner that. stray result in
d s-eqt ilibriurrt of wetlands or streambeds or banks, adjacent, to. or upstream and dowm stream of the
above 'structures'. The applt.i?ant is required to provide oa.denoe that the.Nuilibriu7ri i be rlg'
maintained. hf.regi.ested. in w?r Ting by DNVQ. If this condition is unable to be met due is bedrock or,
other ltrniting: features encaantered during construction, please contact the INIC 1?WQ for guidance:
ott how, to pr eed and to determine whether or not a perm. 1t rmodifica.ti.ar Nx•tll be: required.
11. If'txb fiple pipes or barrels are required, they should be designed. to mimic natural stheam cro,
section as t.losely as.possible 1*111,luding pipes or barrels 4t flood. plain. elevation and/or si11s where
appropiiat<. widening the. stria. eban=1 should be avoided, Stream channel • Ode i ng at the inlet
or outlet end_of structures typlicalh. decrcases watcr velo- ity c.ahisizig sedixrient depcasitio7i that
re.gi.irts iacrea.sed naaintenan:ce and disrupts aquatic life passage.
1 ?.iedirnent arid. e,'ositxrl contxol measr?res sufficient: to protec t 't°ater resources raaust be ir>apleraa;nted
and maintained. in acci'krdanc,e with the most recent versi.on of Nort}a. Carolina Sediment and Erosion
Control Planning arl 'Design. Manual and. the -most..rr;cent version. of NICS000 .50. .
14. All worlt in ?r adjacent to stream haters should be. conducted in a dry work area. Approved.BMP
rMa$urey. 110Tz) tae most current version ofNC.DOT Constmen'on and..l`<iaintenanrz A::iMtkers
manual s-ueh as sandbags, rock berms,. coff darns and. other diversion structures should be used to
prezven excavation in ."lowin' g water.
T While the use. of'lat on-.} NNVC-tland..lnvetatory (NTX II,) maps, TINC C'oasml Region Evaluation of
C'et ant t ifxc:anc.e {'JC'-C:RE? r) maps and soil surrey rriaps are useful tools;: their inherent
inaccuracies require that. qual.ifzed personnel perform onsite wetland delineations prior to permit
approval..
16. Heavy e0ipmerit should. be operated from the bank rather than in stream charnels i.ra order to
minimize sed2:nrentatior and reduce the likelihood of introducing other pollutants into streams, This
equipment should be inspected daily ard..maintai.ned to prevent contamination of surface Nxa?ess
from lea'kir g fuels, lubricants, hydraulicfluids, or other toNit materials.
17.. 12iprap should not be placed. in t'}ie acti-v .tha]we.g channel or placed in the. sireambed in a. manner
t}aax pre4ludf.s aquatic :Fife passage; .13ioengi.neenn.g boulders or structures should be. prop
deli n:ed,. sized. andAnstall.ed.
18. Riparian vegetation (dative trees and shrubs.) should be preserved to the naaximunn extant pos:Sible.
Riparian ve eta.tion rnUSt 1. ie.rees.tablis.;red within the construction 1"srnits of the projeca. by the eud: of
the growing season. iotluwibg comolerion of con§tniction.
The 1\TC;II? Q.apprzeiates the npportunit to pr<??°i3:e ec>rzanae.n?s or yc?.ur project. Should you- have, any
411esfions or rettu.ire..ahy addi.t oinal infbrmatiora,. please contact Sue }lomewoac at )36-"71-496-4.
cc; Jolin. Thomas, -US.Army Corps ofEngineers, Raleigh Field Office
Fede?al.Hi$3 wity Administration
CJiria. Nlrislut-b-cr.:.E,n' "ironnie.ntal Protecti.6n Agency
Ma.rla Cliaml era,1C Wildlife Resources Comrnissi.on
M.are .la Buneie.}t,. C_1S Fish and. Wildlife Service
DWQ.'%VJrntcn-Salem Regional Office
DWQ 401 Transportation. Perinittrna L. n €
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD
REGION D COG
P.O. BOX 1820 .
BOONE NC
REGION D
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION
CC&PS - DEM. NFIP
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
REGION D COG
PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD: Environmental Assessment
27
F02
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP No.
U-4020
The attached project has been submitted to the N. C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
1-1 NO COMMENT
COMMENTS ATTACHED
SIGNED BY:
DATE : 6
STATE NUMBER: 07-E-4220-0212
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
P9
4
AM
D
C*O
`'''a
Khk2ULJ1 VUR KLVI W
Please review the attached notification and indicate your response. If your agency requires additional information, contact the
applicant directly or call High Country Council of Governments' Clearinghouse. Please submit your response to the address below by
the due date indicated.
Phone: [phone]
SCH Number 07-E-4220-0212 Date 12-18-06 Response Date-01-03-07
Please Sign and Return
This Page Only To:
High Country Council of Governments
Clearinghouse Coordinator
P.O. Box 1820
Boone, NC 28607
Reviewers:
Greg Young, Manager, Town of Boone
4; J h
Response: This agency has reviewed the notification and offers the following recommendation: (Check appropriate
response/more than one can be checked)
No Comment
v Favorable. The project is in agreement with the goals and objectives of this agency's programs.
Unfavorable. The project is not in agreement with the goals and objectives of this agency's programs.
Potential Problem (s). Identify:
Comments:
Reviewed by
Name: Agency: Date:
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW
STATE NL7MBER:-.,V7E.-4.20-_0212 F02
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
MS RENEE GLEDHILL-EARLEY
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
ARCHIVES-HISTORY BLDG - MSC 461
RALEIGH NC
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION
CC&PS - DEM, NFIP
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
REGION D COG
}Q
..? y"' •?Hai
PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD:? Environmental Assessment
?e-? C(Z o 3 - ?.I 3
C?
ck?oq
11S)07-
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street); approx. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP'No.
U-4020
The attached project has been submitted to the N: C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
INI NO COMMENT
COM TATTACHED
SIGNED BY:
DATE: .1 • ( \ • V
'DEC
EPA Review Comments on the Federal EA for U-4020, US 421 Improvements,
Boone, Watauga County.
This is a non-Merger project. The Federal EA was issued on 12/8/06 and comments were
requested by 3/1/07. NCDOT. proposes to widen US 421 to a multi-lane divided facility
from NC 194 to US 321 for approximately 1.2 miles.
Two alternatives were study in detail, Alternative 1 (4-lane divided) and Alternative 2 (4
to 6 lane divided). NCDOT prefers Alternative 2. Estimated impacts for the proposed
widening alternatives are as follows (Alternatives 1 & 2, respectively):
Residential & Business relocations: 1R/9B & 1R/9B
Church/Schools: 0/0 & 0/0
Wetlands: 0 & 0 acres
Streams: 100 & 100 linear feet
Riparian buffers: 0 & 0
Sections 4(f)/106 properties: 0/0 & 0/0
Archaeological sites: 0 & 0
Noise Receptors: 20 & 20
ESAs: 0
EJ communities: 0
Natural Heritage Program areas: 0 & 0
Air quality: No (NAAQS Attainment)
Terrestrial forests: 0& 0
Prime Farmlands: 0 & 0
Hazardous Material Sites: 6 & 6
Critical Water Supplies: No
EPA lacks objections to the proposed project and NCDOT's preferred alternative. The
Federal EA was comprehensive and the Summary table of impacts (iii) was very useful in
comparing the two alternatives. A Nationwide permit No.. 14 will be needed by the
USACE.
EPA notes the extensive information contained in the EA regarding MSATs (Pages 30-
36). The proposed project should help to relieve congestion and improve LOS within the
project study area and should have a net positive impact on air quality, including MSAT
emissions. EPA also notes the project commitments for outside increased lane widths for
bicycle traffic as well as the adding sidewalks on both sides of the widened roadway.
Town of Boone
00FA _0
BO NE
North Carolina
May 25, 2007
Mr. Ryan L. White, Project Planning Engineer
NC Department of Transportation
Project Development and Environmental Analysis
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1548
RE: Project U-4020 (King Street Widening)
Dear Mr. White:
At their May 17, 2007, meeting the Boone Town Council met and discussed the Department
of Transportation's policy regarding sidewalk installation. The Town of Boone is formally
requesting that sidewalks be included on both sides of the road for the entire project area (including
Highway 194 to project end.) The Town of Boone will participate in the Department of
Transportation's cost share program for the installation of the sidewalks, where they currently do no
exist withing the project limits.
Please forward the necessary agreements at the appropriate time. If any additional
information is needed please contact me at [phone].
Sincerely,
G g Young
'*"7
Town Manager
/fva
P.O. DRAWER 192 • BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA 28607
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEARINGHOUSE ,,...t
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW
STATE NLT1-BER:47rF.:-4?20-.0212 F02
DATE RECEIVED: 12/13/2006
AGENCY RESPONSE: 01/08/2007
REVIEW CLOSED: 01/13/2007
MS RENEE GLEDHILL-EARLEY
CLEARINGHOUSE COORD
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
ARCHIVES-HISTORY BLDG - MSC 4617
RALEIGH NC
REVIEW DISTRIBUTION
CC&PS - DEM, NFIP
DENR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPT OF CUL RESOURCES
DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
REGION D COG

'
0
10y

46
ypv'
.t

PROJECT INFORMATION
APPLICANT: N.C. Dept. of Transportation
TYPE: National Environmental Policy Act
ERD: Environmental Assessment
- a? 3 I
C2 05
??(y)
FC of
115107-
DESC: Widening of US 421 (King Street) to a multi-lane from NC 194 (Jefferson Ave.) to
US 321 (Hardin Street); approx.. 1.155 miles in length in Watauga County. TIP No.
U-4020
The attached project has been submitted to the N. C. State Clearinghouse for
intergovernmental review. Please review and submit your response by the above
indicated date to 1301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1301.
If additional review time is needed, please contact this office at [phone].
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW THE FOLLOWING IS SUBMITTED:
IN NO COMMENT
COM TS ATTACHED
SIGNED BY:
DATE: ,A • (? • D
??EC a .•;.-.11,1
1 X i:..4i +:1
EPA Review Comments on the Federal EA for U-4020, US 421 Improvements,
Boone, Watauga County.
This is a non-Merger project. The Federal EA was issued on 12/8/06 -and comments were
requested by 3/1/07. NCDOT proposes to widen US 421 to a multi-lane divided facility
from NC 194 to US 321 for approximately 1.2 miles.
Two alternatives were study in detail, Alternative 1 (4-lane divided) and Alternative 2 (4
to 6 lane divided). NCDOT prefers Alternative 2. Estimated impacts for the proposed
widening alternatives are as follows (Alternatives 1 & 2, respectively):
Residential & Business relocations: 1R/9B & 1R/9B
Church/Schools: 0/0 & 0/0
Wetlands: 0 & 0 acres
Streams: 100 & 100 linear feet
Riparian buffers: 0 & 0
Sections 4(f)/106 properties: 0/0 & 0/0
Archaeological sites: 0 & 0
Noise Receptors: 20 & 20
ESAs: 0
EJ communities: 0
Natural Heritage Program areas: 0 & 0
Air quality: No (NAAQS Attainment)
Terrestrial forests: 0& 0
Prime Farmlands: 0 & 0
Hazardous Material Sites: 6 & 6
Critical Water Supplies: No
EPA lacks objections to the proposed project and NCDOT's preferred alternative. The
Federal EA was comprehensive and the Summary table of impacts (iii) was very useful in
comparing the two alternatives. A Nationwide permit No. 14 will be needed by the
USACE.
EPA notes the extensive information contained in the EA regarding MSATs (Pages 30-
36). The proposed project should help to relieve congestion and improve LOS within the
project study area and should have. a net positive impact on air quality, including MSAT
emissions. EPA also notes the project commitments for outside increased lane widths for
bicycle traffic as well as the adding sidewalks on both sides of the widened roadway.
. -
"? ..
?
.. ?
.
., '
?.. . .
EIS RELOCATION REPORT
M E.I.S. ? CORRIDOR ? DESIGN
North Carolina Department of Transportation
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
WBS: 35015.1.1 COUNTY Watauga Alternate 1 of 1 Alternate
I.D. NO.: U-4020 F.A. PROJECT NHF-421 31
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: Proposed widening of US-421 Kin St.), NC-194 to US-321 Hardin St.
ESTIMATED DISPLACEES INCOME LEVEL
Type of
Displacees
Owners
Tenants
Total
Minorities
0-15M
15-25M
25-35M
35-50M
50 UP
Residential 1 65 66 20 50+ 16
Businesses 9 21 31 2 VALUE OF MEWNG DSS DWELLING AVAILABLE
Farms Owners Tenants For Sale For R ent
Non-Profit 0-20M so-ISO 0-20m $0-150
ANSWE R ALL QUESTI ONS 20-40M 160-260 20-40M 160-260
Yes No
X Explain all "YES" answers.
1. Will special relocation services be necessary? 40-70M
70-10OM 250-400
40000 7
12 40-70M 260-400
70-100M 400-600
80+
X 2. Will schools or churches be affected by 100 up 1 Goo UP 46, 100 uP 100+ Goo UP 100+
displacement? TOTAL 1 65 100+ 130+
X 3. Will business services still be available REMARK S (Resp ond b Number
after project? 3. Will not be disrupted due to project.
X 4. Will any business be displaced? If so, 4. A. Clyde Jones Auto Parts, 8700 sf, 6 emp., 1 minority
indicate size, type, estimated number of
employees, minorities, etc. B. Antique Store, 3000 sf, 2 employees, 0 minorities
C. Hardees, 2975 sf, 24 employees, 8 minorities

I 5. Will.relocation cause a housing shortage? D. Ives Auto Sales, 845 sf, 2 employees, 0 minorities
E. Tom Ives Home Inspection, 845 sf, 1 employee, 0 min.
6. Source for available housing (list). F. Polaris, 6000 A 4 employees, 0 minorities
7. Will additional housing programs be
needed? G. Colvard Oil Co., 1625 sf, 9 emp., 2 minorities
H. Extra Mile Food Market, 2400 sf, 3 employees, 0 min.
X 8. Should Last Resort Housing be
considered? I. Blue Ridge Beds, 3150 sf, 9 employees, 1 minority
J. High Country Cleaners, 2400 sf, 7 employees, 2 min.
X 9. Are there large, disabled, elderly, etc. K. Boone Gospel Tabernacle, 4900 sf, 2 employees, 0 min.
families? L. Black Bear Apts. Office, 3200 sf, 3 employees, 0 min.
X 10. Will public housing be needed for project? M. Massage Therapy, 1925 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
x 11. Is public housing available? N. Mexican Grocery Store, 1925 sf, 3 emp., 3 minorities
x 12. Is it felt there will be adequate DSS housing O. Trailway Cleaners, 7900 sf, 8 employees, 2 minorities
housing available during relocation period? P. Ski Rental Shop, 3325 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
x 13. Will there be a problem of housing within Q. Dental Office, 9100 sf, 7 employees, 1 minority
financial means? R. Skin Studio, 9100 sf, 2 employees, 0 minority
x 14. Are suitable business sites available (list S. Appalachian Family Practice, 9100 sf, 6 emp., 0 minority
source).
15. Number months estimated to complete
RELOCATION? 24 to 36 months T. Survey Company, 9100 sf, 7 employees, 1 minority
U. Optometrist Office, 3850 sf, 5 employees, 1 minority
V. State Farm Ins. Office, 3000 sf, 5 employees, 0 min.
Continued on Attached Sheet
06/05/2007
-e
4
/
Date
Right of Way Agent Relocation Coordi for Date
FRM15-E Revised 09-02 Original & 1 Copy: Relocation Coordinator
2 Copy Division Relocation File
EIS Relocation Report Continued On U-4020 Watauga Count
W. Pottery Store, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
X. PC Medics Store, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
Y. Florist, 1995 sf, 5 employees, 0 minorities
Z. Winkler Plumbing Co.., 1995 sf, 6 employees, 1 minority
AA. Beauty Salon, 1995 sf, 3 employees, 0 minorities
BB. Appalachian.net Online Service, 900 sf, 4 employees, 0
minorities
CC. Pantry Inc., 4441 sf, 4 employees, 0 minorities
DD. Country Inn & Suites, 15400 sf, 25 employees, 12 minorities
EE. Auto Repair, 7694 sf, 4 employees, 0 minorities
FF. Business Storage Building, 950 sf, 1 employee, 0 minority
6. Watauga County Board of Realtors MLS, Newspapers, etc.
8. As necessary in accordance with state law.
11. Housing Authority, City of Boone
12. Given the last resort housing programs and proper lead-time it is felt
that DSS housing could be made available to those persons being
displaced.
14. Suitable business sites will be available during relocation period.
Source same as for available housing (no. 6)
++ Anticipated that the majority of tenant displacees are Appalachian State
students.

? ?
,.
?'

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./ `, ?,
';

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L
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
May 3, 2007
Mr. John F. Sullivan, P.E.
Division Administrator
Federal Highway Administration
310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 410
Raleigh, NC 27601
Dear Mr. Sullivan,
LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY
SUBJECT: Proposed widening of US 421 (King Street) from US 321 (Hardin Street) to NC 194,
Boone, Watauga County, Federal Aid Project No. NHF-421(31), WBS Element 35015.1.1,
TIP No. U-4020
CERTIFICATION OF PUBLIC HEARING AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is to certify that a combined public hearing was held for the subject project on March 13,
2007. A copy of the public hearing transcript is attached for your records.
This is also to certify that the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division of
Highways, has considered the impact of the project on the environment, its economic and social effects,
and the consistency of the project with the goals and objectives of the region.
Sincerely,
iGregory J. Thorpe, PhD, Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
MAILING ADDRESS:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
1548 MAIL SERVICE CENTER
RALEIGH NC 27699-1548
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
WEBSITE. WWW.DOH.DOT.STATE.NC.US
LOCATION:
TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
1 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET
RALEIGH NC
526 with the school, there's going to be certain times of the year and times of the day when
527 the traffic is going to be pretty heavy. Anything that's not on that map, any suggestions
528 about changing traffic patterns, that would not have been addressed under this project.
529 That is something that can be addressed at the systems level with the RPO and with the
530 town of Boone. We will note those comments and make sure they get to the right person.
531 Under this project we would not be able to address that specific issue. It's outside the
532 scope of this project. We will pass that along to the appropriate person in Raleigh. Come
533 ahead, ma'am.
534
535 Beth Carroll: My name is Beth Carroll. My partner is a business owner. He'll
536 be affected by this.
537
538 I have a couple of easy questions. It's noted a proposed project. This is
539 definitely happening. Is there any chance that it won't happen? She'll need to move.
540 I'm not sure from this schedule if the right-of-way acquisition would be an appropriate
541 time frame for the business to move or if moving would have to happen prior to that
542 point. How far ahead of time might that be? When will she need to be out and when will
543 we know for sure what the time line is? Thanks.
544
545 Moderator: I would suggest that you do talk with Mr. Caudle. Jim, will you
546 raise your hand? That's one of those property specific questions that he can best handle.
547 As far as the schedule, yes, we may move that schedule up. It looks like we've got about
548 18 months between the right-of-way and construction. We're going to try to speed that
549 up. We want to go ahead and have all the right-of-way bought before we start
550 construction. We want to have that out of the way. The Relocation Assistance Program,
551 the work that our Right-of-Way Agents do, we're going to work as hard as we can to
552 have everyone moved and situated before we start the project. Each scenario with each
553 property owner is different. I highly recommend, now's the time to be asking those
554 questions. Let me know what those questions are, and I'll get those to Mr. Caudle so he
555 can start to address those. Jim doesn't have all the information in front of him right now
556 but he can start looking into it.
557
558 Anyone else? We're going to be here for the next few minutes. The
559, comment sheet carries the same weight. I appreciate everyone coming out tonight. With
560 that, Iformally close the hearing. Thank you.
561
562
563 Hearing Adjourned.
564
565 Ed Lewis, Moderator
566 Public Involvement Unit
567
568
569 Typed by Cyndy D. Hummel
570 March 21, 2007
571
U-4020 US 421 - King Street . page 12
478 decision as far as the relocation of your home or your business. It's a good program that
479 we have in place, Greg.
480
481 Greg Brew: (Inaudible)
482
483 Moderator: Sorry about that. I wasn't doing the math. Greg corrected me.
484 Greg Brew, our Roadway Design Engineer pointed out we may get out there six months
485 sooner than that right-of-way date. Thank you, Greg. Yes, sir, if you'll come up so I can
486 get it on the tape, I'd appreciate it. Greg did go to Virginia Tech. I went to State. That's
487 why he does the roadway design plans.
488
489 Edward Stamey: My name is Edward Stamey. I've lived here in Boone all
490 my life. They're taking some property that belongs to my Mom.
491
492 My question is a lot of these properties on the south side are going to be
493 chopped up, smaller areas to develop or build on. I'm concerned about what the town of
494 Boone, as easy as they are to work with you, what's going to happen in that regard.
495 Some of these places like on my Mom's property, it narrows down. Unless someone on
496 either side buys our property, we haven't even got a big enough place to build a parking
497. lot with set backs for parking cars or something. I'm concerned what may occur there
498 with the reduced amount of property that might be able to be developed unless people go
499 together and market their property. There's going to be even more loss to some people
500 than others.
501
502 Moderator: Thank you for those comments. Those are some of the discussions
503 as far as how much of the property is the Department going to buy, that's something
504 that's part of our negotiation with our. Right-of-Way Officer. You'll be able to have
505 those questions answered. As far as what any other property owners could do with the
506 city of Boone, that's a local issue. Our Right-of-Way Agents are going to talk about your
507 specific property, what the impacts are going to be and what exactly we would have to
508 purchase from you. Any other questions that you have, they would be able to answer
509 them or direct you to the correct person to talk to. With Boone involved with some of
510. those local issues, we tend to stay out of. Come ahead, sir.
511
512 Wiley Martin: I'm Wiley Martin. I did own the State Farm Insurance on East
513 King Street.
514
515 I'm asking you, is the problem getting traffic out on football games on
516 weekend traffic? Have they considered going down 105 and cut straight across Horn in
517 the west and tie it right into Appalachian State University? That way you can get
518 football crowds out. You can get people into Appalachian. It would be a lot less
519 expensive than taking this whole corner. I wondered if they considered that? If you've
520 got the new high school, you can come up 105 or come from Cold Creek. It would be a
521 lot less expense and a lot less people being relocated. That's all I wanted to ask.
522
523 Moderator: I appreciate those comments, sir. You're talking about a system
524, level subject. It's not just King Street but the entire traffic network. What we're talking
525 about tonight is just those improvements along King Street. With the football games,
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 1 l
431 . This may be a silly question with regard to the schedule. Although it's
432 indeterminate what time you begin, do we have any idea how long a project like this will
433 take?
434
435 Moderator: The question would be the construction time. It's always difficult
436 to put these improvements out there under traffic conditions. Trent, Frank what do you
437 think about, two years, two and a half years?
438
439 Unidentified DOT: (Inaudible)
440
441 Moderator: Two and a half to three years. It's quite a challenge constructing
442 these projects and still maintain traffic. We will have a traffic-phasing plan. The idea is
443 to keep the workers safe and the people in the cars safe while we're constructing this
444 project. Watch your step. State your name and address.
445
446 Jerry Idol: How are y'all doing? My name is Jerry Idol. I own Idol's Tire in
447 Boone. There's a man sitting right here that's been in business 54 years. I'm right
448 beside him. I've only owned my own place about 4 years. There's only going to be
449 about four businesses left on the left side. I've got seven employees to employ, not
450 counting all the jobs that's going to be took. We need to know as fast as we can what's
451 going to happen so we can plan. That's the only thing I'm wondering is how long is all
452 this going to take?
453
454 Moderator: If you'll turn to your handout where we've got the general project
455 information. We're looking at a right-of-way acquisition schedule of August 2008.
456 We've heard tonight that we want to speed that up. It's not going to keep you from
457 talking to one of our Right-of-Way Agents tonight. Tell them what your concerns are
458 and what your issues are. We do have processes in place that will assist in relocating the
459 business. With these type of widening projects, the down side is, we are buying people's
460 homes, buying businesses out that have been there forever. That's one of those things
461 that are hard, but it's necessary in order to get the cars out there a safe place to go. We
462 looked at trying to widen to the north side. The impacts would have been even greater.
463 The construction would have been more difficult. We also looked at trying to widen
464 equally on both sides. All that would have done would have taken out both sides. We
465 did take a hard look at this. The south side was the best side to widen to. There are
466 impacts associated with this project. It's those property owners and those homes and
467 businesses that are affected. Now is the time to start talking to our Right-of-Way Agents.
468 Go ahead and let them know what your concerns are. That way they'll have plenty of
469 time to address any concerns that you have. If we're able to speed the schedule up, that
470 right-of-way date could happen a year earlier. We'll stake that alignment on your
471 property. Our Right-of-Way Agent will come out and meet with you and talk about
472 options - how you're going to move, how you're going to value my property. Each
473 individual property that we deal with is different. It has it's own little things associated
474 with it. That's why our Right-of-Way Agents go out and discuss that with you. No
475 acquisition is the same. There's always something different that comes up. This process,
476 there's no black box associated with it. We're going to come out and speak with each
477 and every one of you, answer all your questions, so that you'll be able to make a good
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 10
383 to please consider the design, since most of the construction is going to occur on the
384 south side. I'm not saying push it off on the south side totally. If there's any way to save
385 this tree, I think it would be a benefit, not only to my family but the community in
386 general. I think it's the only yard in this corridor because everything has gone business.
387 I bet the tree is over 100 years. Having grown up there, I've flown that tree all over the
388 world. It's been to the moon. That tree has had a swing in it at one time. I've written
389 songs about growing up there. Please reconsider, because even though it's a temporary
390 taking, it's a permanent taking of that tree. There's a maple tree, also I beg for, but if we
391 can't have the maple tree, please save the oak tree.
392
393. Moderator: We have spoken to a few other folks that have flown that jet and
394 space ship. The situation is the tree is in the temporary construction easement. That
395 temporary construction easement is what we use to work on the backside of the road.
396 We've heard that tonight. It is on the record. That will be something we will be
397 discussing with our design staff and our local DOT staff. We'll see what we can do in
398 that situation. We have noted the location of that tree. Come ahead, sir.
399
400 Lynn Hagaman: My name is Lynn Hagaman. I'm the Sheriff of Watauga
401 County. I'm going to ask a question in a second. You go back and tell your daddy that
402 your brother and I climbed that tree.
403'
.404 I do have a question in regards to public safety. With the medians in the
405 roadway, if there's an emergency for either police, fire or EMS, can there be a crossing
406 that would be safe so they can cross over the medians?.
407
408 Moderator: Is there afire station or police station out there now? There's not a
409 fire station on the project.
410.
411 Lynn Hagaman: No.
412
413 Moderator: The only situation where we would entertain the idea of a median
414 crossing would be immediately in front of a fire station. I think with the extra lanes, we
415 don't anticipate that there would be any sort of additional delay in response time. In fact,
416 with the extra amount of lanes, the response time should improve. We have had
417 questions along those lines before. If you and the fire chief can write us, and let us know
418 what your concerns are, we'll certainly address those.
419
420 Lynn Hagaman: I can't speak for the fire department. If there was a
421 structure fire across, depending on where the hydrant was, they may have to lay hose
422 across both lanes. Just wanted you to address that.
423
424 Moderator: Thank you for those comments, Sheriff. Anyone else tonight?
425 We'll be around a little bit if you want to talk to us one on one. If there's not any other
426 questions, I'll go ahead ...come ahead, sir.
427
428 Bob Ducamera: Thank you, Mr. Lewis. My name is Bob Ducamera with
429 Prudential Mountain Properties.
430
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 9
335
336 Jerry Idol: (Inaudible)
337
338 Moderator: Please note that Mr. Idol's questions have been addressed. If
339 there's anyone in the audience that would like to come up and make any comment, please
340 raise your hand, I'll call on you. Come on up and make your comment or question.
341 Again, let me stress that the comment sheet is good for 30 days. Take it home tonight. If
342 you have any questions, send that in to me. Yes, sir. Come ahead, please.
343
344 John Grasinger: Hello, my name is John Grasinger.
345
346 I'm just interested in the height of the wall that's going to go in front our
347 two new hotels across from New Market. Even more importantly, what the wall is going
348 to be made of and how it's going to look. since it's going to be a primary introduction of
349 people into our town?
350
35 Moderator: Thank you, sir. We've had several comments like that. We're
352 really not prepared to give you height and elevation. If you want that information, we
353 can certainly get that to you. The look of the wall, we can take a look at that and address
354 that at our meeting that's coming up in about 45 days. If you have any suggestions,
355 please send those in to us. If you have a question about how high a wall is or how high
356 the road is in front of your property, ask us that question and we'll get that to you pretty
357 quickly. I've heard similar questions tonight about that wall and that's something that we
358 can discuss and investigate. Anyone else tonight? Yes, ma'am, please come up. Yes,
359 sir, sorry.
360
361 Unidentified Male: (Inaudible)
362
363 Moderator: Let me just make sure that I get this on tape. The question from
364 the gentleman in back, do the comments that you send in on the comment sheet carry the
365 same weight as the comments tonight? Yes, they do. If you talked to one of us tonight,
366 and you didn't write anything down,. we're going to forget that. One of my guys forgot to
367 pick me up today. I was here about 30 minutes late. So we're a forgetful bunch. Please,
368 don't think that if you talked with us, that we've heard you. We've heard you right then.
369 What we want you to do is fill out these comment sheets. That way we can make sure
370 they fully get addressed and they will. So any comments, any questions, you can take
371 them home tonight and think about it. Just get them in before the 13`h. That way we can
372 fully give them their due diligence when we're trying to address them. Any other person
373 want to come up? Any other questions? Some people write better than they speak. They
374 don't feel comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. That's perfectly,okay. You want to
375 come up ma'am?
376
377 Rebecca Eggers Grotter: I'm Rebecca Edwards Grotter. I'm an attorney here
378 in town.
379
380 I grew up in one of the properties that's listed on the map. I guess it's a
381 temporary taking in the Green Hatched. However, there is one of the few large trees in
382 the downtown area and on the corridor that's probably going to be lost. I would ask you
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 8
287 through movement to make this road last as long as possible and get the road to move the
288 traffic like it needs to move. A lot of you may say, if somebody wants to turn into my
289 business are they going to? If you're a business that they want to get to, they will. This
290 type of median, we've done studies, the affect is negligible on the properties. What we're
291 looking at is controlling the access, making sure that the number of cars that we carry
292 lasts for a long time into the future and we have a safe design to limit those rear-end
293 collisions.
.294
295 We'll go ahead and open up the floor for anyone that would like to speak. I've got three
296 folks on the list. Once they've gone through, we'll give everyone else an opportunity to
297 speak. When I call your name, what I would like for you to do is to come up, state your.
298 name and address and let us know what your comment or questions are. We may be able
299 to answer them tonight, we may not. Let's be respectful of everybody's questions and
300 comments. If there's any other questions, anyone else that wants to speak and you
301 haven't signed up, you'll get a chance. So with that, Mr. Jim Deal.
302
303 Jim Deal: Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lakey.
304
305 My comments are primarily directed toward the timing of the project. As
306 Mr. Lakey is aware and certain others are aware, we are in the process of building a new
307 high school just to the east of this property which will be serviced primarily by this road.
308 That high school is scheduled to be completed and opening, and we're crossing our
309 fingers, in August of 2010. That's going to put more traffic on this road than what's
310 there now. We would hope that increased traffic would not have to be working through a
311 construction zone, trying to get to a new high school. We certainly hope that you will do
312 everything that you can to advance the project and move it along to where it is completed
313 by August 2010 as well. If not, the difficulties that you are going to experience with
314 construction are going be even worse. So we hope that you will certainly take that into
315 consideration. Thank you.
316
317. Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Deal. We will be addressing that issue. Mr. Ron
318 Henries.
319
320 Ron Henries: My name is Ron Henries. I'm currently on the Watauga County
321 Board of Education.
322
323 I want to echo some of the things that Mr. Deal said about this project. I
324 look around this room and I see so many people that are going to loose property because
325 of this. My heart goes out to every one of you. I was looking at the map trying to figure
326 out how many of these kids are going to be affected, trying to get to that new high school.
327 Six out of the eight school districts will be funneled through this channel to get to the.
328 new high school. Only Parkway and Green Valley will be coming in from the other
329 direction. It's instrumental that we be able to do something to facilitate traffic flow
330 through the Perkinsville area. I'm certainly not smart enough to know if this is the best
331 plan or not. It's up to these folks to decide that. We appreciate everybody's support in
332 trying to get these kids to the high school as quickly as possible. Thanks.
333
334 Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Henries. Jerry Idol.
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 7
239 and sidewalks. There may be some culverts that we'll add on to the existing pipes. The
240 Candy Cane colored structures are existing structures that will stay in place. These
241 drainage structures here. The Blue stands for water. Pink or a Purple color will stand for
242 utility easement or a cemetery, things like that. We do have a historic property here.
243 That is a Dashed Line, but that's off the project. The project will have no effect on it.
244 That's the map.
245
246 The project starts here at Hardin Street. There's an existing signal that will remain there.
247 We are widening all the way to the south side. You may want to, in your handout, turn to
248 those overhead views of the intersections. You can see the number of lanes that we're
249 putting in to handle the turning movements. If you look at the typical section, we've got
250 a four-lane section, then a six-lane section. The six-lane section at 105, we've got six
251 lanes here, from here back, we've got four lanes. We've also got some additional turn
252 lanes. With the amount of traffic that's going to be turning, we wanted to separate that
253 turning traffic from the through traffic. That's going to help the cars and the trucks get
254 through there without having to wait for someone to make that left turn across traffic.
255 They're not going to be able to. Now you can do that with that two-lane you have out
256 there. We've got a concrete median barrier or a grassed median all the way through the
257 entire project. The only places you will be able to turn left will be at these signalized
258 intersections. What does that mean? That means that if you've brought a delivery into
259 Mountain Oil, you've come up from Greensboro, you'll turn in, drop your load, pick up a
260 load and then you'll come here. You're not going to be able to turn left because we've
261 got that. median in there. We're going to ask you to come out, make a right turn, get in
262 this left turn lane, do a U-turn and get back to Greensboro where you're wanting to go. Is
263 that the only way to get around? I think a lot of folks know that there's some back roads.
264 If you didn't want to do a left turn, if you knew another way, you can certainly do that.
265 From a safety standpoint and a capacity standpoint, when I talk about capacity, it's the
266 number of cars we move through here. We are prohibiting left-hand turns out of any of
267 the businesses and side roads. What we're asking you to do is come down here and do a
268 U-turn where it's safer to do that. Some of you have been out there today and have been
269 at some of these places. You haven't been able to turn left because of the amount of
270 traffic. You say, I'm going to go right and do a U-turn. We're starting to do this on all or
271 projects across the state because we want to keep traffic moving. We want this road to
272 last as long as it can. We're separating that turning traffic from that through traffic and
273 we're keeping everybody moving. You can do a safe U-turn at a signal because all the
274 right turns are separated from the through movements as are the left turns.
275
276 We've got existing signals at the major intersections - Grove Street, East King Street,
277 Delmar Street. We've also got a signal at Jefferson Road/NC 194. We've got a signal
278 here now that's going to remain at Forest Hill Driver We've got a signal at NC
279 105/194/US 221. We've got a signal here at Hardin Street. Some of these roads on the
280 uphill side of the road, there's not too much work we have to do to make them smoothly
281 tie-in to the new road. On the downhill side, the lower part of the road, you can see
282 where we're having to do some additional work on these side roads to make sure we've
283 got a good, safe design for folks turning out of and turning into that road. A lot of this
284 has to do with bringing the road up a little bit so you do have a smooth transition in your
285 car or truck getting up to the road. What we've tried to put in is a good, safe design.
286 We've put some extra lanes in there. We've separated the turn movements from the
U-4020 US 421 King Street page 6
191 be provided with assistance on locations of comparable housing and/or commercial
192 establishments, moving procedures, and moving aid. Moving expenses may be paid for
193 you. Additional monetary compensation is available to help homeowners cope with
194 mortgage increases, increased value of comparable homes, closing costs, etc. A similar
195 program is available to assist business owners. The Right-of-Way Agent can explain this
196 assistance in greater detail. We have representatives from our Right-of-Way Branch here
197 tonight. They've had an opportunity to speak with a lot of you. There's two pamphlets
198 that the Right-of-Way Office has put out. This one is "Frequently Asked Questions about
199 Right-of-Way Acquisition", and this one is "The Relocation Assistance Program". If
200 you're one of those property owners that are going to have right-of-way bought from you,
201 then this is the only one that you need. If you're one of those property owners that we're
202 going to purchase your entire property, then you want to go ahead and get both of these.
203 And tonight before you leave, touch base with our Right-of-Way Agents and get their
204 contact information, if you have any questions later on. You can send those questions to
205 me and I'll make sure that those right-of-way questions will get to those folks.
206
207 The last page, a lot of folks have already used it, it's the Comment Sheet. My contact
208 information is in the bottom right hand corner. You can use this form. You can mail it to
209 me. You can fax it to me. You can send something on your, letterhead. My US mail
210 address is down here. You can also email me. We are going to have available in PDF
211 format, this map. So if you do have a good computer system at home, email me and we
212 can get a copy of this map to you. If you do not have email capabilities and there's a
213 certain section of the map that you want to get a copy of, let me know and we'll get that
214 out to you.
215
216 We're going to go ahead and go through the map briefly. Then we'll open it up to our
217 speakers and anyone else. This is a public hearing map. What you see here is reflected
218 in the Environmental Assessment document. As all good maps, it has a north arrow, up
219 this way. It's got a legend with all the different colors on it. We'll talk about what that
220 means. We also have these typical sections. This is what we gave you copies of in your
221 handout. There's different colors on here. The legend talks about what the different
222 colors are. The Brown color is structures. That could be anything from a home to a
223 businesses, to a garage, anything like that. The next color is the Dark Green color. That
224 Dark Green color that you see in certain places, that is right-of-way that is owned by the
225 Department of Transportation now. The next color is the Light Green color. The Light
226 Green color, without the hash marks is permanent right-of-way that the Department is
227 going to have to purchase. You can see with all the widening to the south side, there's a
228 lot of Light Green in there. There's also Light Green color with the hash marks through
229 it that's a construction easement. Most of the time we need that to work and get the
230 equipment in there. In most cases that will revert back to the property owner. Sometimes
231 we may have to keep it if it's a drainage easement of some sort so we can make sure the
232 roadway has a place for the storm water to drain. The next color is the Gray color. The
233 Gray is existing road that's out there now. The next color is the Orange color. Orange is
234 existing road that is out there now that's going to be resurfaced. We'll resurface all of
235 King Street under this project because we are making it a smoother road from a design
236 standpoint. The next color that we want to talk about is the Yellow color. That's new
237 roadway. That's new pavement., You can see all the new paving is pretty much on the
238 south side. The Red color stands for concrete structures like the median, curb and gutter
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 5
143 If you turn to the next page, we've got some proposed project information. We've
144 discussed that. The typical section, those are in the back. You can take a look at those
145 that shows typically what we're going to put out there. The right-of-way. varies from 100
146 feet to 140 feet. There is no access control. So each property would have access to the
147 roadway. Since we are widening to the south side, we have 63 residences that are
148 anticipated to be moved. We have 25 businesses that would be impacted by the project
149 and would have to be moved. Then there below, you see our estimated cost of the
150 project. Our right-of-way cost is just over $ 21,000,000, utilities cost around $ 700,000,
151 construction cost a little over $ 11,000,000, for a total cost of a little over
152 $33,000,000. The tentative schedule and I underscore tentative, is shown below. A
153 number of factors can affect a project schedule, so project schedules are subject to
154 change. The right-of-way acquisition is scheduled for August 2008, construction for
155 April 2010. I was informed today that the Department is making an effort to speed that
156 schedule up.
157
158 The next page is the Summary of Environmental Impacts. I won't go through those.
159 There's a list on the left and then on the right is the number associated with it. As far as
160 noise receptors, there's 20. The residential relocations, we show those. Critical water
161 supply total cost, that's just some information that's been included in the Environmental
162 Assessment that we used in planning the project.
163
164 The next page is the Typical Section. If you cut the road and laid it on end like you
165 would a loaf of bread, that's kind of what we've shown here. You can see the number of
166 lanes, four and six lanes. On the next page is some intersection diagrams showing the
167 lane configurations. Those speak for themselves. You can see the turning lanes.
168
169 The next page is just a vicinity map showing the project in relation to Watauga county.
170
171 The next page is our Right-of-Way page. We do have some right-of-way issues that we
172 do need to address. We do have some relocations that we're going to take care of as well.
173 After decisions have been made regarding the final design, the proposed right-of-way
174 limits will be staked out on the properties that are out there. The property owners can see
175 exactly how far into their property that the right-of-way is coming. At that point in time,
176 our local Right-of-Way Agent will call you and set up an appointment with you to come
177 out and talk about what that line means. He'll inform you of your rights as a property
178 owner. He'll fully explain the whole right-of-way acquisition process. If permanent
179 right-of-way is required, these professionals who are familiar with real estate values will
180 evaluate and appraise your property. The evaluations and appraisals will be reviewed for
181 completeness and accuracy and then the Right-of-Way Agent will make a written offer to
182 you. The current market value of the property at its highest and best use when appraised,
183 will be offered as compensation. There's four rules that the Department must follow.
184 Number one, we treat all owners and tenants equally. Number two, we must fully explain
185 the owner's rights. Number three, we must pay just compensation in exchange for
186 property rights. And number four, we must furnish relocation advisory assistance.
187
188 Relocation Advisory Assistance is the next heading. If you are a relocatee, in other
189 words, if your residence or business is to be acquired, purchased as part of this project,
190 additional assistance in the form of advice and compensation is available. You will also
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 4
97 spoken and written issues will be discussed at that meeting. We'll have minutes from that
98 meeting available to anyone that wants them. We'll also have a typed transcript of
99 tonight's hearing available for anyone who wants to see those as well. In order to get
100 those, contact me in and let me know that.
101
102 The State/Federal Relationship, we're talking about the funding of the project. It's 80%
103 Federal dollars, 20% State dollars. The Board of Transportation is responsible for the
104 selection and scheduling of the projects on the Federal Aid System, their location, design
105 and maintenance cost after construction. FHWA, or Federal Highways is responsible for
106 the review and approval of the previously mentioned activities to ensure that each Federal
107 Aid Project is designed, constructed and maintained to Federal Aid Standards.
108
109 Need for the Project. King Street is classified in the Federal Highway Functional
110 Classification System as a "principal arterial". Arterials are meant to provide a higher
ill level of mobility. However, the development along the project prevents it from
112 adequately providing long, uninterrupted travel that a "US" route is intended to provide.
113 Because of its location in the Town of Boone, US 421 serves the local traffic needs by
114 providing access to adjacent businesses. Due to the numerous through routes (US 321,
115 US 221, NC. 194 and NC 105) that go through there, that intersect with King Street, the
116 project corridor acts as a funnel for traffic to and from Boone, the Tri-Cities in
317 Tennessee, as well as the Triad and Metrolina areas of North Carolina. The current
118 Average Daily Traffic (ADT) on US 421 in Boone ranges from 19,000 to 39,000 vehicles
119 per day and is expected to increase to almost 29,000 and close to 68,000 vehicles per day
120 by the year 2030. You all know what it looks like out there now, imagine what it would
121 look like if we did not do any improvements. Based on traffic projections and without
122 the proposed project, King Street would operate very poorly with considerable traffic
123 delays in the future. Also, turn to the next page, during a recent three-year period, there
124 were 268 accidents that occurred on this section of King Street in town. The most
125 frequent type of accident was the rear-end collisions. The resulting accident rate is two
126 times higher than the statewide rate for similar highway facilities. With the amount of
127 congestion, people stopping and starting, trying to turn left, that's why you have those
128 type of collisions.
129
130 The Project Description. The Department proposes to widen King Street from an existing
131 two-lane roadway to a multi-lane roadway from NC 194/Jefferson Avenue to US 321/
132 Hardin Street. Widening is proposed to take place on the south side of the existing
133 alignment for two reasons. One, that it is more economic alternative and secondly, it is
134 the most practical from a design perspective. In addition, the intersections with Grove
135 Street, Hardin Street, New Market Street, Forest Hills Drive and Jefferson Avenue will be
136 improved. The project length is about 1.2 miles long. What we are talking about as far
137 as the standard number of lanes, King Street will be widened to a four-lane, divided, curb
138 and gutter roadway with a 17.5-foot raised median and five-foot sidewalks on both sides
139 from Hardin Street to US 221/NC 105. We will add additional turn lanes as needed.
14o From that point, US 421/US 221/NC 105 to just past NC 194, the project will widen to a
141 basic six-lane, divided, curb and gutter roadway with sidewalks on both sides.
142
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 3
49 how congested that road is at different times of the day. Traffic is going to increase by
50 the year 2030 to an extra 10,000 cars. What we wanted to do was go in and provide some
51 extra lanes so we can handle the extra traffic that's going to be out there. One of the
52 other things we do, with the intersections out there is to also provide separate turning
53 lanes. So the folks that are wanting to go straight on through won't have to wait for a
54 person to turn in front of them. Basically we're adding more lanes out there to handle the
55 cars and the many turns that will be taking place out there.
56
57 What is the Purpose of the Public Hearing? It's an on going process. We've been out
58 here before and talked with many of you about this project at a Citizen's Informational
59 Workshop. It's an opportunity for you to give us some more information about this
60 project, how it affects you, and what your comments are. Planning and environmental
61 studies have been on going. We've completed the first step with the Environmental
62 Assessment. Once we finish the public involvement process, over the next 30 days, we'll
63 complete the next phase document. It's called a Finding Of No Significant Impact.
64 We've had copies of the EA and the map available for the last 30 days at the Town of
65 Boone, Town Hall on West King Street. We've also had it available at the District
66 Engineer's Office on Jefferson Highway in Boone. They'll continue to be there.
67
68 The next place, Your Participation. That's very important. I had an opportunity to talk to
69 a few of you tonight, prior to the meeting. You were able to tell me certain issues
70 associated with your property. You were able to ask me questions. That is why we were
71 here. We wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to speak with you one on one.
72 We're going to be recording the hearing tonight. That way we'll capture all your
73 comments and questions that you have. We may not be able to answer them all tonight,
74 but we will eventually address them at a meeting that's going to take place in about 45
75 days in Raleigh. There's a lot of different ways you can give us your comments. One is
76 to come up tonight and speak into the microphone. On the last page of the handout,
77 there's a comment sheet. In the bottom left hand corner is my contact information. If
78 you have any question at all about this project, how the project affects you or your
79 community, anything like that, send that in to me within the next 30 days. What I will
80 do, if it's a design question, I'll make sure Mr. Brew gets it. If it's a planing question,
81 Mr. White will get that. If it's a right-of-way question, I'll share that with our local right-
82 of-way office here. Right now, I'm the point of contact. Everybody will see these
83 comments. I'll go ahead and send those comments out.
84
85 There's a lot of different people here tonight. Everybody's going to have their own
86 opinion. We're not here to argue. I'm not here to convince you that this is the best
87 project. What we're about tonight is to hear your comments. They're going to be
88 different. Let's respect each other's comments. Let's give everybody an opportunity to
89 speak tonight and let us know what their comments are. We'll all get along just fine.
90
91 Let's turn to the next page. What is Done with the Input? We read every one of them. I
92 had a project three months ago; I had about 1,400 comments that came in. I read every
93 one of them. It took a while. We made sure we addressed every one of them. We want
94 to address your comments. Get those in and I'll be sending those out as they come in. In
95 about 30 or 40 days we'll have a meeting in Raleigh and we'll discuss everything that
96 we've heard tonight and everything that we're going to hear in the next 30 days. All
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 2
1 OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEARING TRANSCRIPT
2 Combined Public Hearing for US 421 (King Street) Improvements
3 From NC 194 (Jefferson Avenue) to US 321 (Hardin Street)
4 Broyhill Inn & Conference Center
5 March 13, 2007
6 TIP #U-4020
7
8
9 Good evening. My name is Ed Lewis. I'm a Public Hearing Officer for the North
10 Carolina Department of Transportation. I'll be conducting the hearing tonight. I'd like to
11 welcome you all to the public hearing to talk about the proposed transportation
12 improvements to Ding Street in Boone. We refer to that project number as TIP Project
13 U-4020. So any time you talk to one of us, with the Department of Transportation, please
14 use that number.
15
16 Before we get into it, I want to introduce some folks that we have here tonight. We have
i7 with us for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Board of Transportation
18 Representative for this area, Mr. Arnold Lakey. We also have Mr. Michael Pettyjohn,
19 who is the Division Engineer. We have Mr. Trent Beaver, who is the Division
20 Construction Engineer. From our Right of Way Branch, we have Jimmy Caudle and we
21 also have Daniel Miles. We have Ivan Dishman, Assistant District Engineer, Mr. Frank
22 Gioscio, who is the Resident Engineer. I think a lot of y' all know Frank. All these folks
23 are from this area here, so these are your Department of Transportation representatives.
24 They work in this area. It will be these folks that will be working on this project. From
25 our Raleigh offices, with the Department of Transportation, we have Mr. Greg Brew,
26 who is our Roadway Design Engineer. Greg's team is responsible for the maps that you
27 see here tonight. Along with Greg, we have Mr. Imad Younis. From our planning
28 branch, the folks that are responsible for the planning of the project and producing the
29 Environmental Assessment, we have Mr. John Conforti; we have Mr. Ryan White, and
30 Zahid Baloch. We have Mr. Greg Smith, who is our Noise and Air person. Assisting me.
31 .tonight, out of my shop is Mr. Jamille Robbins. I think we've covered everybody. We
32 also have Mr. Craig Hughes, who is one of the members of the High Country RPO.
33 That's the Rural Planning Organization. They take care of the local planning issues.
34
35 We'll go ahead and get into the hearing. First, I want to make sure that everybody signed
36 in and picked. up the literature for tonight's public hearing. If you did not get one, raise
37 your hand and we'll get you one to you.. Jamille will bring those to .you, and Mr: White.
38
39 The way we're going to do this, we're going to go through the literature real quickly and
40 then we're going to go through the map, explain the map. Then we're going to open it up
41 for you to ask any questions or make any continents. We did have a sign-up sheet
42 available out front. So we'll go through those folks. Then once those folks that have
43 signed up have spoken then we'll give everyone an opportunity to speak also.
44
45 Let's go ahead and turn to the first page of the handout. What is the Purpose of the
46 Project? The project proposes to widen King Street to a multi-lane roadway from NC
47 194, Jefferson Avenue to US 321, Hardin Street. The purpose of the project is to
48 improve mobility and route connectivity through the project study area. You all know
U-4020 US 421 - King Street page 1