Plans to complete the widening of U.S. 17 between Jacksonboro and Gardens Corner apparently have been successfully resuscitated in recent meetings with highway officials and members of the ACE Basin Task Force. A proposal that would resolve safety problems and protect the environment along the route is a welcome prospect indeed.
Tee Hooper, chairman of the state highway commission, tells us that there is "positive momentum" for the project, which was shelved some 10 years ago. "There is a sense of urgency to get all the players on the team working on the project," he said.
Its need has been underscored by recent fatalities on the two-lane portion of the highway, including three caused by a head-on collision of a Navy bus and a truck.
Charles Lane, of the ACE Basin Task Force, agrees with Mr. Hooper's assessment. "There is a real sense of 'let's work and get this done,' " Mr. Lane says, adding that the mutual goal is a highway that is safer and compatible with the ACE Basin.
The Department of Transportation prepared a plan in the early 1990s, in consultation with the ACE Basin Task Force, for a limited access highway with large buffers on either side through the nature preserve. The project stalled before the permitting process was completed, and issues related to wetlands use remained unresolved. DOT Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry says highway officials already are working with state and federal natural resource agencies that must sign off on the plan.
Major conservation easements have been added along the roadway since the road plan was last considered, and will provide much of the buffer acquisition required for the road, thereby reducing its cost, Mr. Lane says.
Mr. Hooper cautions that there may yet be roadblocks during the ongoing discussions. But the mutual interest in advancing the project is a hopeful sign that an acceptable widening plan can soon be put on the fast track toward completion. Meanwhile, the DOT should be commended for undertaking stopgap measures, including intersection improvements and encouraging greater enforcement of speed limits, to make the existing roadway safer.
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