DOT 107 Road Project

NCDOT is working on widening and changing the configuration of NC Highway 107. The purpose of the project, per the NCDOT and their engineers, is to improve safety, relieve congestion, and improve traffic operations along Highway 107.  They have determined This section will provide important information about the Highway 107 construction project that extends through the city limits of Sylva. The center-left turn lanes will be replaced by a superstreet format that includes a bicycle lane. 

A superstreet, also known as a restricted crossing U-turn (RCUT), or reduced conflict intersection (RCI). At a superstreet, crossroad traffic intersecting with a main thoroughfare is restricted from any direct crossing or left turns. Traffic may only turn right, merging onto the main road, which then provides U-turn lane access and allows for left (or right) turns onto the intersecting crossroad. 

For Sylva, what is the center multi-direction turn lane will become intermittent turning lanes.  Where turns are not permitted, a raised concrete median transitioning to a grass median will prevent traffic from crossing.  The intent is to improve safety and keep traffic flowing.  There will be 18 U-turn locations along the roadway.

Crash analysis data of the road from NCDOT found that “the corridor experiences a high percentage of rear-end collisions which can be caused by congested conditions – a crash rate higher than the state average.”

The Traffic Engineering Accident Analysis System reports that “the five-year crash study from Aug. 2011 through July 2016 found 254 total crashes on N.C. 107 from N.C. 116 to U.S. 23 Business. That translates to 234 crashes per 100 million vehicle miles of travel – a rate higher than the 2013-15 statewide average for all N.C. routes (221 per 100 motor vehicle mile) but lower than the statewide average for four-lane N.C. routes with a continuous left turn lane.”

NCDOT crash analysis from the start of 2017 up to the end of September 2023 on the stretch of Highway 107 from U.S. 23 Business up to Evans Road (SR 1774) boasted a total of 707 crashes. The majority of the crashes involve property damage (85 percent) but 15 percent had injuries and three crashes were fatal injuries.

Data from the 2022 ranking of cities with populations of less than 10,000 based on all reported crashes from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2022 ranked Sylva 10th out of 432 cities. Jackson County is ranked 42 for 2022, which is down from the 51st place in 2019 in the ranking of all counties in North Carolina.

Other Resources:

2017 Jackson County Comprehensive Transportation Plan

Click HERE to learn about all the options that have been explored.

To see a historical timeline of the project planning, click here.

To see a history of Sylva’s road assets and their evolution, click here.

Discussions and various plans for making the traffic through town better have been ongoing for over 20 years. The Southern Loop, an attempt to bypass the busy part of N.C. 107 that would have gone through the Cane Creek area, would have put Western Carolina University traffic towards Balsam.  Sylva businesses didn’t want the bypass because they didn’t want all the traffic to bypass their establishments.

All the existing traffic lights will remain, with one additional being added. The light at Cope Creek Rd. and Walter Ashe Road intersection will be realigned to facilitate a safer right hand turn onto Cope Creek Rd.  Additionally Skyland and Dillardtown Road will be realigned in the Asheville Highway corridor. There will be one additional traffic signal installed at Hall Heights and Cherry Street at the Dairy Queen intersection.

In order to accommodate the super street format with merging U-turn lanes, and required multimodal features (sidewalks and bicycle lanes), the road requires 110 feet minimum to function properly.  During the design, many outdated, unsafe, or poorly designed features will be corrected which will further contribute to better safety and flow.

Amazing.  Redevelopment is already underway to get the corridor ready for new structures.  The road is designed to reduce traffic accidents and increase both the volume and flow of traffic.  The project will accommodate 4 lanes of traffic, plus an additional turn lane of traffic headed North into Asheville Highway.  Two outdated bridges will be replaced, one at Jackson Paper and one at Innovation Brewing.  Aging water and sewer infrastructure will also be installed, as well as new light poles.  Failed “box culvert drainage systems will be replaced by 7 foot culverts to accommodate better drainage.  Sinkholes will be fixed, and there will be better erosion control.

This project will span from Highway 116 near Ingles, North along Highway 107 to Innovation Brewing near the entrance to downtown Sylva, and up Asheville Highway to Skyland Drive.

As of March 1, 2024, the project is currently finishing up the “Right of Way Acquisition” phase and entering the “Utility Setback” phase.  Actual road construction is estimated to begin after the bid date in July of 2025.

No.  A 2012 Jackson County N.C. 107 feasibility study, explored constructing roundabouts, replacing center turn lanes with islands and adjusting traffic signal timings, however, it was determined that was not feasible because the traffic volumes were determined to be too great for a roundabout to function properly.

Click HERE to learn about all the options that have been explored.

The construction will be done primarily at night in order to minimize business disruption and traffic congestion.  Once the utility setbacks are complete, construction will begin on one side of the road, followed by the other side.  No major reroutes are planned.