News

Ask Matt ... when will ‘Misery Mile’ become a sublime ride

When it’s done, the U.S. 64 widening and roundabouts project from Glasgow Lane to White Pine Drive will transform the roadway into Laurel Park’s ‘living room’ or village core, says Mayor Carey O’Cain. [TOWN OF LAUREL PARK]

By MATT MATTESON, Published: November 6, 2026

Q. Driving through Laurel Park on U.S. 64 West is a disaster zone. When will they be finished with the road work and the four roundabouts they are building?

True, it’s a commuter’s nightmare but maybe a rubbernecker’s paradise. Every time you run the construction gauntlet from Blythe Street to White Pine Drive you see something new. On a given day, they are hauling dirt and gravel across the highway, building a concrete retaining wall, raising the Ecusta Trail or laying asphalt. And there is more to come along the “Misery Mile.” The city of Hendersonville has water and sewer lines to install, Enbridge Gas has more lines to bury and Duke Energy still has poles to remove once Optimum and AT&T have removed their lines.

Every day some 16,000 motorists pass by the project’s dump trucks, excavators, cranes, pile drivers, loaders, dozers, compactors, asphalt pavers and rollers. All of this will cost NCDOT $28 million plus another $2 million to acquire right-of-way. Our public utility friends were tight lipped about the specific costs for their respective work. The logic is if the roadway gets torn up, this is a good time to upgrade lines, pipes, poles and wires. This is called “betterment” but the additional costs are not covered under state contract rules.

After several design revisions, road widening work began in May of 2025 by Tennoca Construction Co. of Candler. I am told the completion date is November 2028.

Roundabouts will be installed at the intersections of Glascow Lane, Pisgah Drive, Daniel Drive and White Pine Drive but at the entrance to the Laurel Park Village shopping center entrance. There, the stoplight will be replaced with turn lanes. I spoke with Chris Moore, the manager of Talbots, the women’s clothing store now at ground zero. “It’s been total chaos but surprisingly, it hasn’t affected our business,” he said. “Our customers are loyal.”

A cursory check of nearby retail shops and eateries revealed that many had lost business. Energy Mart has lost its gas pumps but will stay in business as a convenience store.

On the bright side, the Ecusta Trail at White Pine Drive has reopened after crews completed a large retaining wall. “Please practice caution as trail users and traffic on White Pine Drive get used to the updated configuration, and stay alert for ongoing work in the area,” the Friends of Ecusta Trail advises. Trail impacts at Daniel Drive have been pushed to late winter/early spring 2027, the organization noted, with an estimated start date of March 15.

I asked NCDOT what led to planning this massive project. “The project is designed to increase safety and reduce congestion,” said David Urchiyama, Division 14’s spokesperson. Urchiyama was unable to offer a cost benefit per roundabout for this project, however, some studies have been made about eliminating electric power and traffic signal maintenance. I found one that estimated savings at up to $10,000 a year. So, what’s the payback timeline? Well, eliminating two traffic signal intersections at twenty grand a year compared to a construction cost of thirty million dollars, pays back in … well, don’t even try to do the math.

OK, but let’s not forget the safety factor. Converting to roundabouts can reduce vehicle crash costs by up to a half million dollars a year and NCDOT's research suggests that roundabouts reduce accidents by up to 55% depending on the location. Safety may take a back seat before November elections as the roundabout on Greenville Highway has become a major magnet for political signs.

Carey O’Cain, Laurel Park’s mayor, looks far beyond the construction phase.

“We want people traveling down 64 to feel as though they are traveling through a special place, much like the feel when you travel thru Pinehurst or Biltmore Village,” he said not overlooking the connectivity to the Ecusta Trail. “Approaches to each roundabout will also be landscaped. DOT does not allow large trees so we have had to work within their guidelines.”

O’Cain added that each roundabout will have a seasonal theme. Laurel Park has put a great deal of planning into the traffic circles including adding water and power to each.

So, just two more years of stop and go traffic, avoiding pylons and dodging big boy Tonka trucks. Have patience, folks. You will love the results.