Hello [Name of Elected Official], 

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I am an Asheville resident writing to voice my concern about the proposed eight-lane I-26 Connector flyover above Patton Avenue on the west side of the Bowen Bridge.  For three decades, Asheville City Council and the Asheville Design Center worked tirelessly to advocate for Alternate 4B, a design solution that proposed routing the I-26 Connector below Patton on the west side of the Bowen Bridge.  This design would preserve the view of the mountains and downtown and allow the Bowen Bridge to be reimagined as a “complete street,” a signature bridge connecting Downtown to West Asheville.  The resulting boulevard would nurture future urban development on both sides of the river and advance the best quality of life for the residents of Asheville.  Their advocacy succeeded, and NCDOT accepted Alternate 4B as the preferred design option.

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In light of this, I was dismayed to learn that within the last year, NCDOT accepted a proposal from the lowest bidder, who promised such a low price by replacing the underpass with a massive, eight-lane flyover above Patton Avenue.  In accepting this bid, NCDOT will save money in the short term, but the people of Asheville will have to deal with the repercussions of this immense overpass forever.

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If this flyover is constructed, these repercussions will be far reaching, and West Asheville will bear the brunt of the impact. As has been documented elsewhere around the country, highway overpasses create geographic and psychological barriers between regions of a city, siloing economic development.  This flyover will isolate West Asheville from the heart of the city, inhibiting future development and economic growth on the west side of the French Broad, and limiting consumer access from the west side to businesses on the east.  Effectively, this flyover will negate the unifying potential of Asheville’s future “signature bridge.”

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In addition to the concerns detailed above, our community is still deeply grieving the devastation of Hurricane Helene.  As it relates to the subject of this letter, the storm significantly altered the extents, and likely the ecology, of Asheville’s riverbanks.  We suggest that it may be prudent to reexamine the completed Environmental Impact Statement to confirm whether conditions have changed and whether those changes merit revisions to the Connector design.

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In conclusion, I urge you to oppose the construction of this flyover by taking action to advocate once again for a solution in the best interests of the people of this city. I join the Citizens’ Coalition to Save West Asheville in requesting that the City perform a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to study the economic impact of each Connector design option (underpass versus overpass) relative to the cost of each option, to determine whether the cost of the underpass will yield a return on investment.  The results of this LCCA can be leveraged to underpin a grant application for funding needed to construct the I-26 Alternate 4B underpass design.  By taking these actions, we can ensure a unified, vibrant, and flourishing urban future for Asheville—on both sides of the river. It's the only just option to serve the citizens of Asheville for decades to come.

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Thank you for your time and consideration, 

 

[Resident]