Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 15

JOHNSON CITY PRESSTHE ERWIN RECORD Tuesday July 4 1995 Page i 3SAfl St M--6 4 9 V'" 3l tv fcK 4aflf f' vV si 5 4ft-'r'Vkvl i f- 1 fAJX tS-K i I I i A "hi ra Mil fwii mb5 2tiS 5M 4jpi 5 MMi If- Wr )fll i rmtsi Trrr'r- vt MUf -kww? -V -lx Photos by Charles Edwards The Erwin Record Construction workers stand in a basket suspended by a crane in an attempt to widen a bridge at Exit 18 of the new US Highway 23 ffort ha i it 4khC ir is rS Lm i I have always known it would open up Unicoi County and the entire Tri-Cities area to tourism and industrial development Zane Whitson -1 rt ij- SK-r flm -jw ft fji 1 Ji i It i Sf By Carole Crawford The Erwin Record An interstate highway connecting the Tri-Cities and Upper East Tennessee area with Western North Carolina and the southeast and replacing the narrow winding road through the rugged mountains in Unicoi County was a vision for many decades As far back as 1919 Sen Thomas Murray talked of a wide road from Johnson City to Asheville NC A state Department of Transportation 1928 state highway map shows the two-lane US Highway 23 was under construction from Erwin to North Carolina After that construction the highway remained basically the same with not much else besides talk occurring in those early years While the four-lane project was still being considered in the 1960s it took until the 1980s for any plans to materialize In the 1960s meetings were held concerning the Appalachian Highway project and the building of the local highway was included in the plans since it was felt such a highway would vastly improve economic conditions here However the Appalachian funds dried up before plans proceeded for the improvements to US 23 In the late 1970s the highway project was virtually dead in the water until state Rep Zane Whitson R-Unicoi revived it -and pumped life back into the plan Elected to the state Legislature in November 1978 Whitson campaigned on a promise to push for the highway and now in his 17th year in Nashville he is finally seeing his primary goal completed This highway to North Carolina has always been my top priority Whitson said I have always known it would open up Unicoi County and the entire Tri-Cities area to tourism and industrial development more than any other one happening On March 9 1979 newly elected Gov Lamar Alexander visited future interstate before leaving office but the vastness of the project along with weather becoming too cool for final paving in late 1994 didnt quite cooperate and he missed by about six months In August 1988 the first highway map was unveiled and on Oct 6 the first public hearing concerning the highway corridor and highway design of the first two sections from Erwin to Flag Pond was held at Temple Hill Elementary School Right-of-way acquisitions pro- ceeded and the first house formerly owned by the Willard Shelton family was moved from the path of the proposed highway in mid-July 1989 In 1989 action by Tennessee lawmakers named the highway in honor of Quillen with a sign erected in August designating the James Quillen Parkway On December 15 1989 a public hearing on the third leg of the i 4 This section in the Riverhill community is one part of the new highway that has already been completed highway from just north of Flag Pond Elementary School to the North Carolina line was held at the school The Interstate 26 designation was also approved in 1989 by a federal committee the American Society of Highway officials and Transportation Directors although official designation including signs cannot come until the highway is completed through Asheville and connects with the present 1-26 The initial contract for the first leg of the highway a 46-mile section from the Nolichucky River south of Erwin to 07 mile south of Temple Hill school was awarded to Holloway Construction Co Wixon Mich on Feb 16 1990 The bid was for $219 million and the contract allowed nearly two years for completion The groundbreaking was held May 1 1990 with McWherter state DOT Commissioner Jimmy Evans numerous officials and a North Carolina highway delegation in attendance Bids were received on Dec 7 1990 on the second section of highway from Temple Hill to 06 mile south of Flag Pond The contract was awarded to Wright Brothers Construction Charleston Tenn for $254 million on Jan 2 1991 The contract for the 54-mile section allowed about 3 Vn years for completion The state advertised for bids on the third section in March 1991 and after a delay awarded a $234 million bid to Wright Brothers on May 21 The 28-mile section extended from south of Flag Pond to north of Carver Road Although original plans called for the highway to be constructed in three sections the third section had to be divided due to the excessive cost The $216 million bid for a final fourth section a 21-mile segment from near Carver Road to just south of the Tennessee-North Carolina state line was awarded to Vecellio Grogan Construction Co Barclay WVa on July 1 1991 About 1200 feet of the project extends into North Carolina and had to concur with North Carolina DOT plans The neighboring state will also pay a pro rata share of the contract amount In May 1993 RR Dawson Bridge Co Lexington Ky was awarded a bid of $10990745 for three bridges The first section of the approximate 15-mile highway was opened to travel after several delays on Dec 22 1993 and had provided travelers with just a taste of the entire route On Wednesdays highway opening date it will have been five years two months and four days since the first spade of dirt was turned at Sandy Bottom near the Nolichucky River Whitson credited the completion of the actual construction of US 23 both south and north of Erwin in as short a time as it actually took Unicoi County with several state officials and for the first time publicly gave his commitment to the future interstate Standing in the back of a pickup with Whitson at the intersection in the Canah Chapel community of Tenn Highways 81 and 137 (now called the Erwin Bypass) the governor told a gathering of about 75 people We will get this highway completed as fast as we can The bypass opened to traffic on Jan 29 1982 with state Transportation Commissioner Robert Farris speaking at the official ceremony announcing all sections of the new US 23 from Erwin to Johnson City were either completed or under contract Farris continued to be very supportive and instrumental to the highways progress Alexander walked a four-mile section north of Erwin His address at the ceremony noted a goal of having the highway over Sams Gap by 1992 and he spoke of the expensive $100 million cost The Unicoi County project had received $41 million since 1979 for highway construction under Alexanders administration In April 1986 Alexanders Bicentennial Parkway bill had included a three-cent per gallon increase in the state gasoline tax and a two-cent increase in diesel fuel The 151-mile section of highway in south Unicoi County to Sams Gap and the North Carolina line termed the 1-1811-26 project was named to receive some of the funds At that time the highway project was estimated to cost approximately $95 million and Alexander said he expected the route from Erwin to Emestville to be open to traffic by 1991 and the remaining route to open the following year Rep James Quillen R-lst requested federal funds which were approved in early 1987 giving Tennessee $16 million provided the state contribute $4 million to the US 23 project In October 1987 a $4 million overpass of US 23 the Tenn Highway 81-107 intersection in Canah Chapel opened eliminating the original on-grade intersection which had been the scene of many accidents and three fatalities Gov Ned McWherter elected in 1986 pledged his commitment of completing the highway to North Carolina during his term of office Credited with funding the project after a half-century of debate he visited the highway site several times while in office and continuously pushed for its completion McWherter wanted to cut the ribbon and open the to the decision to let construction contracts on the various sections at the same time rather than waiting on one section at a time to be finished Constructing the highway in that fashion would have taken years and years he said The North Carolina Board of Transportation approved its first contract on the 1-26 project to improve a three-mile section north of Asheville to interstate -standards on Oct 8 1993 Work began on that $117 million project in November North Carolina officials esti- mate the proposed 1-26 highway in their 6tate will be completed in 2000 or 2001 i Contracts had been awarded that month for two segments of thfe highway between Fishery community in Unicoi County and the Carter County line and construction was under way on the section between Johnson City and Carter County The highway including the Erwin bypass was to be a part of Tenn Highway 137 to the Virginia state line north of Kingsport The road also joined a portion of Interstate 181 extending from Johnson City and connecting with 1-181 in Sullivan County Tennessee with the entire route through Erwin also often termed though unofficially 1-181 Alexander had promised to complete the four-lane highway from Johnson City to Erwin during his term which he accomplished although the road had no longer been on anyones priority list On June 20 1986 the four-lane to the Erwin bypass at the then Harris Hollow exit was opened to traffic with the Upper East Tennessee highway officially designated the Appalachian Scenic Highway The governor said there would be no billboards junk yards etc to mar the beauty of the highway Preceding the ceremony An.