Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:

Question: Today as I traveled the “always seems weird” intersection on Airport Road heading toward the Western North Carolina Ag Center — you know, that “going against traffic looking interchange” — I was wondering: This has been around for a while (not sure how long), but can our friends at the DOT tell us, “Was the goal met?” Does traffic really travel faster and safer? Did this idea really work? What are the comparison traffic numbers before and after? I know that for myself, I usually just avoid going that route, especially at night, because it just seems a confusing mess.

My answer: I think we can all agree that we need to retire the bumper stickers that say, “Keep Asheville Weird” in favor of “Asheville: Always seems weird.” That battle has been fought and won, friends.

Real answer: I have fielded questions on this intersection, technically called a Diverging Diamond since the end of World War II. I exaggerate, but this intersection has generated a lot of questions over the years.

As a Fletcher resident who drives the intersection about daily, I can tell you that it definitely works. With the previous, traditional design, you’d wait a long time for your crack to get on the interstate via a left-hand turn, as you had to wait through the traffic signal cycle, usually at least twice.

But for the official results, I went to Randy Tritt, a traffic engineer with the NCDOT’s Division 13, based in Asheville.

“The diverging diamond interchange is proving to be safer and more efficient than the standard diamond interchange that it replaced,” Tritt said via email, noting that construction on the interchange started in 2014 and was “substantially completed” in 2016. “A review was completed in 2020 comparing the three-year period before construction to the three-year period after construction.”

Tritt noted that the section the study reviewed extended slightly beyond the interchange.

These are the study findings: 

• There was a 31 percent reduction in injury crashes, and the severity index saw a 15 percent reduction.
• The section as a whole saw a 5.5 percent reduction in crashes.
• The southbound ramp intersection saw a 29 percent reduction in crashes.
• The northbound ramp intersection saw a 25 percent reduction in crashes.
• There was a 14 percent increase in traffic volumes — 29,100 vehicles per day in 2012 compared with 33,300 vehicles per day in 2018.

So, it seems pretty clear that this design works. If you want to learn more about these interchanges, the NCDOT has a good brochure online.

I think what throws drivers with these interchanges is that they do put you on the left side of the road, which initially feels like you’re going the wrong way. But once you get used to it, it’s really no big deal.

The benefits regarding safety and efficiency, the NCDOT notes, are that this type of interchange “allows free-flowing turns when entering and exiting an interstate, eliminating the left turn against oncoming traffic and limiting the number of traffic signal phases. It is easy to navigate, eliminates last-minute lane changes, and provides better sight distance at turns, resulting in fewer crashes.”

Also, this design “reduces congestion and better moves high volumes of traffic without the need to increase the number of lanes in an interchange.” 

The national figures also back up what the local study found.

“In a national study, the design reduced crashes by an average of 37 percent after it was constructed at 26 interchanges across the United States,” the NCDOT’s information page states. “The design also reduced injury and fatal crashes by an average of 54 percent.”

So, my advice is to give it a few more tries and see if you get used to it.

Question: I was just reading about Memorial Stadium being reopened and having paved paths to walk on. It would seem to me that, given the human-caused climate crisis, it should be a requirement that anything that is getting repaved or paved for the first time use permeable pavement if at all possible. Every single inch of non-permeable pavement makes flooding issues worse, as we saw with Helene. Yes, I know it’s initially more expensive, but in the long run it is less expensive if it helps to mitigate flooding risk. This should include parking lots, residential driveways, and paths in parks or playgrounds. Can you get the city to explain its choices on paving materials in this park?

My answer: Why my idea of streets made out of sponges has never taken off still baffles me.

Real answer: City of Asheville spokesperson Kim Miller said the stadium previously had a “chip seal trail system — a type of paved surface with crushed stone — which was impervious and inaccessible for many community members.

“Asphalt was chosen for maintenance purposes, accessibility, and longevity,” Miller said. “The selection of paving materials for parks involves several factors, including prioritizing the accessibility for all users, long-term durability and low maintenance, and cost-effectiveness optimizing public resources.”

The city did take into account stormwater runoff.

“Regarding stormwater and runoff at the site, the City of Asheville now employs a shallow swale at Memorial Stadium, allowing more time for runoff to soak into the soil,” Miller said. “In general, a swale is a water control system to promote infiltration of stormwater runoff into the ground. This was a specific choice the city made to keep runoff on the site instead of directing it to the river.”

Question: I saw your recent Answer Man about Sheetz going in across from Walmart on Airport Road. Does this mean they’re no longer going in near the airport by the cell phone parking lot? We who love to hang out in the cell phone lot would love to have a place to get something to eat or use the bathroom. Or maybe they are going to have two Sheetz stores within a couple miles of each other on Airport Road? Also, this site across from Walmart seems a lot smaller than their footprint in Mountain Home. Will the store be the same size?

My answer: Clearly, Sheetz is following the Ingles’ model of a store on every corner. Hey, it does seem to be working.

Real answer: Congratulations, Arden! You’re having twins!

“Yes, the Sheetz across from the airport is being built,” Asheville Regional Airport spokesperson Tina Kinsey said via email.

I reached out to the Sheetz spokesperson but didn’t hear back by deadline. 

However, the Town of Fletcher’s Planning Director, Eric Rufa, did. “Got an email reply from my Sheetz contact below saying both projects are happening,” Rufa told me.

He had reached out to Wes Hall, entitlement project manager with Sheetz, who told Rufa via email, “They are two separate projects and are both happening.”

The Town of Fletcher was involved in the Sheetz project across from the airport because that one straddles the Buncombe/Fletcher line. Fletcher is not involved in the store across from Walmart.

Buncombe County permitting records also show both projects are ongoing, and both have been issued various permits.

As far as the size of the store at 59 Airport Road, across from Walmart, the construction manager I talked to for the original column said the new store will be “almost identical” to one Sheetz opened last year a few miles south on U.S. 25 off of the Mountain Home exit of I-26. I’ll note that the Airport Road property is bigger than it looks from the road, and it comprises two parcels.

So, happy Sheetzing!

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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