Monday, Oct. 4

The chill of autumn air came rushing down the mountains on Sunday, lingering into the beginning of this week.  Temperatures struggled to make it out of the 40's today, but clear skies gave ample opportunity for a big day of work.  A new telephone pole was installed near Hardee's with a steel cage placed around the base to protect it from the ongoing work.  Nearby, the deep ground drillers were hard at work digging holes for road expansion beams.  Some of the beams on site are now larger, a necessary switch as the elevation gradually rises as the highway heads toward the New Market Drive intersection.

The biggest development at the construction site was the return of paving.  Fresh asphalt was being laid for the first time since the most recent traffic pattern shift commenced in August.  A strip about one lane wide and roughly 50 yards in length in front of Modern Toyota was receiving its first layer of asphalt at lunchtime today.  A front end loader and pavement roller were smoothing the new pavement as backhoes and hydraulic excavators were digging and filling various holes surrounding the paving area.  With the heavy amount of work being done from the highway's intersection with New Market Drive to its intersection with the Highway 105 Extension, it appears that crews will try to have that stretch of road open sooner than the other sections under construction.  While much work is yet to be done, new pavement certainly means solid progress is being made.

Sunday, Oct. 3

With no activity at the construction site this afternoon, I took the opportunity to take some photos of several areas of the road work.  It is often difficult to get good angles for pictures when work is in full swing, but today created a great chance to get some pictures.  The photos below provide an insight into how far the road construction has come along and how much is yet to be done.  The burning question that remains and will continue to remain for everyone impacted by this project until its completion is "when will it be finished?"

Support beams and timbers alongside New Market Center.

The second deep ground driller.

Many entry and exit ways to businesses are closed or obstructed.

An excavator mounted on a truck.

A view of the work from the intersection of New Market Drive and Highway 421.

Installed piping beneath the surface.

The worksite heading northbound.

Many sidewalks in and around the worksite are in poor condition.

This raised sewage manhole is surrounded by road work.

Beamplates that have been lowered into the ground during work.

A front-end loader that has been at work on the site.

A grading/paving machine that has been grading the recently demolished area.

A backhoe and excavator on site.

Grading work continues in front of the High Country 4x4 Center.

Piping and cubes that will soon be underground.

The construction has caused drainage problems in areas surrounding the road work.

The rubble pile beside the entrance to Oak St.

Friday, Oct. 1

Gusting winds and cooler temperatures provided a much needed weather change for work to continue at a normal pace along Highway 421 on Friday.  The weather resulted in another busy day of work for most of the heavy machinery on site.  Both deep ground drillers were back at work digging holes for more support beams to go into place for the expansion work alongside of New Market Center.  Closer to downtown along 421 westbound, a backhoe was digging holes in front of Modern Toyota and a bulldozer was leveling the gravel and dirt composite that had filled the ditches that were dug in previous weeks.  Also of note was the additional paving equipment that was brought on site.  From rollers to sealant sprayers, all of the equipment for paving is in place in front of Modern Toyota as the paving process will likely begin shortly after finishing touches are placed on the underground and surface work.