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TAC votes to remove portion of Southern Loop from prioritization list
By Stephanie Salmons
Jackson County officials, along with those from neighboring counties, met Monday (March 24) for a meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee, which is part of the Southwestern Commission’s Rural Planning Organization.
The Southwestern Commission RPO serves Jackson, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, and Swain counties and it also includes a Technical Coordinating Committee.
The TCC serves to make staff-level recommendations to the TAC and consists of local planners, county and town managers, N.C. Department of Transportation staff, economic development professionals and local transportation committee members. The TAC is the policy-making body of the RPO.
TAC members voted Monday to amend the RPO’s prioritized list of projects for the region. According to RPO planner Ryan Sherby, the TAC had previously approved the prioritization.
“We have had lot of public contact the RPO concerning the Jackson County prioritized list of projects, particularly the Southern Loop portion from U.S. 23/441 to N.C. 107,” Sherby said. “Also the elected officials in the county who serve on the committee recommended that we consider removing that, the public recommended it and DOT also feels that portion is not in their priorities.”
Sherby recommended to the committee that they formally strike the item from the prioritized list of projects.
“I will make the motion that we strike that permanently from the list,” Webster Mayor Steve Gray said.
Bryson City vice mayor Kate Welch voiced concern about the ranking of projects in Swain County and said that she would like to move improvement along U.S. 19 from Hughes Branch Road to U.S. 441 in Cherokee to the top of Swain County’s priority list.
Gray amended his motion to include this and the motion was passed unanimously.
The TAC also approved a planning work program along with a five-year planning calendar.
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