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Work has been halted by Buncombe County on a huge retaining wall being built along U.S. 74-A in the Reynolds area.

From Staff Reports

REYNOLDS — A Jan. 4 stop-work order from the Buncombe County government abruptly stopped progress on an 88-feet high retaining wall  being built along U.S. 74-A in the Reynolds community.

The eight-story tall wall, close to the northeast edge of Charlotte Highway, has a number of cracks, some easily visible from the highway below. The wall is being built to support a large apartment complex.

Matt Stone, head of the county’s permits and inspections department, has asked the engineering firm that designed the wall to examine it to determine if it is stable. Also, he wants the firm to see if other measures are needed to keep the wall in place before work would resume.

In an unusual move, the county hired an outside engineer to look at the wall, received the engineeer’s report on Jan. 3 and the issued the stop-work order the next day.

The report said the wall poses a potentially deadly threat, as 54 cracks up to 3 inches wide opened in the past six months.

Some sections are bulging and deterioration could accelerate with rain or snow, according to the report from Kessel Engineering Group. “Movement may be gradual or catastrophic in nature,” the report stated.

County officials have been told that some cracking is normal in a retaining wall, but Stone said they have seen enough evidence for concern.

To that end, he told the Buncombe Board of Commissioners on Jan. 4 about the county’s action and later discussed the matter in closed session with the board and County Attorney Michael Frue.

The appearance and safety of the wall have prompted comments from the commissioners as well as residents of the Reynolds and nearby Fairview areas. The wall is technically two walls, with a terrace in between.

Carol Peterson, a commissioner and Fairview resident, noted that the work stoppage on the wall project is good news for all citizens who drive U.S. 74-A.

The wall is nearly complete, lacking just some drainage and other work, Stone said.

The developers plan to construct four apartment buildings on the now-level land above the retaining wall. The complex, located about a mile from Ingles grocery in Reynolds, is projected to include 308 units.