Interstate 26 (NC)
Background
The NC DOT has proposed to widen a 40-mile stretch of I-26 from Hendersonville to north of Asheville from four to six lanes, including an expansion to eight lanes in Asheville. The agency, rather than conduct a full environmental study of the overall impacts of the entire project, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, divided the project into four sections and started on the southernmost segment ? about 13 miles from Hendersonville to the Asheville Regional Airport ? based only on a cursory review of that segment alone.
In May, 2002, SELC filed suit in federal court on behalf of four citizens groups - the Western North Carolina Alliance, Smart Growth Partners of WNC, Citizens for Transportation Planning and the NC Alliance for Transportation Reform. Many local leaders, officials and citizens oppose the project, in particular the 8-lane section through town which would displace numerous businesses. As with most highway projects, the expanded interstate would result in additional traffic and sprawl, posing a significant threat to air quality and open space in the region.
One of the key concerns expressed by the citizen's groups is the flawed safety information used by the DOT to justify widening I-26 from four lanes to six lanes. In its environmental review, the DOT claimed that I-26 should be widened because there were four times as many crashes on this section of interstate compared to the state average. In fact, this segment of highway is much safer than other highways in North Carolina, with a crash rate that is one-fourth the statewide average. Investigative work by the citizens groups also revealed that, for almost a year, the DOT was aware that their safety claims were false, yet did not correct the errors publicly. DOT also failed to inform the public that its own internal "Community Impact Assessment" found that new traffic would soon fill the additional lanes, so that any relief of traffic congestion would be "minor and short-lived."
In October 2002, Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle issued a preliminary injunction ordering the North Carolina DOT to defer work on the proposed widening of I-26 through Henderson County until a final decision is issued on the merits of the case. Judge Boyle agreed with citizens groups that an injunction was needed due to serious concerns that the DOT has failed to consider the project's effects on public health, regional air quality, and sprawl development in the region, in violation of federal law.
