When will traffic woes from Maggie Valley roundabout construction end?
MAGGIE VALLEY — A major traffic headache for motorists entering and leaving Maggie Valley won’t ease anytime soon.
Maggie Valley aldermen learned at a meeting earlier this week that construction of a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 19 and U.S. 276 is expected to be completed in the next six to seven months.
Backups caused by construction of the roundabout at the Maggie Valley intersection with Jonathan Creek have been causing major delays, and some accidents, when heading toward Maggie Valley from Waynesville.
Backups also occasionally occur when leaving Maggie Valley, including late last month after thousands of people attended the Hillbilly Jam festival in town.
“We still have leaf season, but hopefully after that they can finalize everything,” said interim Public Works Director Seth Boyd.
Boyd and Police Chief Matthew Boger have been having regular meetings with the N.C. Department of Transportation since construction began this past spring.
“Those conversations with them (NCDOT) are great for us,” said Mayor Mike Eveland. “We are not in charge of this — this is not our project. We are just trying to help out wherever we can to make sure people are safe.”
AT&T hold ups
Progress has been somewhat slowed by AT&T’s reluctance to reinstall its lines at the new roundabout in a timely manner, Boyd said he was told by NCDOT.
“AT&T is telling them they are going to put the conduit in, and then they are going to order the wire,” Boyd told aldermen. “Why don’t they have the wire already here when they put the conduit in?”
Apparently, AT&T has said that’s not how they do it, and DOT is not to happy, Boyd said.
“They are highly aggravated with AT&T in trying to get them to move faster. They keep trying to prod AT&T along,” Boyd said.
