Exit Ramp Option Scrapped in Morganton

The Morganton News Herald reports that while transportation officials have yet to choose which design it will use to rework Interstate 40 Exit 103, it has eliminated one design. NCDOT officials have eliminated design Option One from consideration because it had a dramatically higher number of relocations compared to the other two options. Option One had one of the westbound off-ramps circle around Days Inn and over Ross Street. Option One would have required the relocation of four businesses and 28 residences, according to information from NCDOT. At $21.6 million, it also would have cost more to do than the other two options. Of the remaining two options, Option Two would most closely resemble the layout of the current exit. It would require the relocation of four businesses and eight residences and cost $15.3 million.Option Three is a diverging diamond design that would require the relocation of five businesses and one residence and cost $17.03 million. Right-of-way acquisition for Exit 103 is scheduled to begin in early 2019.