Ryan Hanchett
rhanchett@highlandsnews.com
Walking from the Blue Valley Overlook parking area towards Scaly Mountain on what used to be NC 106 is like walking back in time.
What in September was the main commercial artery into Highlands and Cashiers from the south and west, is now little more than a dirt path.
For the team at Bryson Grading and Paving, the project of completely rebuilding the roadbed while replacing a 90-year-old box culvert is a major undertaking – but one they feel connected to on a personal level.
“When the bid process came open for this project, we felt like we were in the best position to do the work and get the road open in the shortest amount of time,” Ryan Bryson said on Friday. “We know the terrain, we are used to working on the slopes of these mountains, so we were excited to learn that we had been selected to do the job.”
NC 106 was compromised during the onslaught brought by Hurricane Helene over two days Sept. 27-28. Initially, only minor damage was seen from the roadway and the N.C. Department of Transportation reopened the road for one-lane travel after the storm passed.
A closer inspection in the days after Helene showed a major failure below the road surface and necessitated the road being closed completely until repairs could be made.
“This road has been here for about 90 years, and the engineering of it is really pretty incredible,” Bryson said. “Wherever they came to a point where water was running off the mountain, they built a stone box culvert by hand and then filled and paved over it. This culvert that failed during the hurricane lasted more than 90 years.”
To replace the failed culvert, Bryson’s team will be installing a more modern piping system to transport runoff under the roadway and down the mountain below. As of Friday, a crew of eight employees, plus Bryson, and a state inspector, were on site running heavy equipment and planning for the next steps in the project.
“So much of what we are doing depends on the weather, and this time of year in Highlands you just never know,” Bryson said. “We are doing everything we can to make the most of the nice days and get as much accomplished as possible. We’re even prepared to work two shifts if need be, to stay on schedule.”
Bryson noted that in order to get to work on the NC 106 project, the company did have to delay other commercial and residential jobs.
“All of our customers have been very understanding regarding the scheduling,” Bryson said. “Everyone in Highlands and the surrounding areas knows how important this road is to our way of life. All of our commercial goods come up this mountain, our trash leaves this way, there’s a lot of reasons why we need the road rebuilt and reopened.”
With good weather, Bryson estimated that the road could be ready for travel in early to mid-January.
“Now that we have dirt moving, we are shooting for January, as early in January as possible,” Bryson said.
“We want to work fast, but we want to make sure everything gets done right. This road is too important to be hasty or cut corners, it has to be fixed correctly.”