We are thrilled about the announcement that the new lanes are open on I-26, west from Hendersonville, marking a major milestone in the the widening project in Henderson County to where it is “functionally complete,” according to an April 9 statement from the N.C. Department of Transportation.

To that end, the new lanes in Henderson County were officially opened on the morning of April 10. 

The widening in Henderson County, a separate project along I-26 from the newly opened section in Buncombe County, is “functionally complete and in its final pattern,” NCDOT noted.

In Henderson County, contractors are still working on completing the project’s final punch list, including the installation of pavement markings, rumble strips and finishing road signs, among other things.

In addition to the new lanes on I-26, west from Hendersonville, new lanes on I-26 East heading to South Carolina opened from Airport Road (Exit 40) to U.S. 64 (Exit 49) on the morning of April 5.

That stretch includes four lanes of travel from Airport Road to U.S. 25 (Exit 44) and three lanes from there to U.S. 64 (Exit 49), according to NCDOT.

Since widening project began in 2019, commuters have suffered through regular slowdowns and heavy congestion, resulting in unpredictable traffic.

On the bright side, as mentioned by some observers, the I-26 lane-widening completion will take a lot of pressure off surface streets as well, such as U.S. 25 through Fletcher, N.C. 191 from Mills River to the Asheville Outlets, and Sweeten Creek Road from Arden to I-40.

Also, we have heard from some folks who have voice the hope that, with the lane-widening, there will be no trucks traveling in the left lanes. 

Then, again, others remain pessimistic, such as “Hvillewalker,” who expressed in the “comment bubble” of Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) the following sentiment (which we did not edit):

“What a waste of money, this won’t work. 26 will always be congested. We need to discourage people from moving here. Look at how far asheville has fell since the 70s. Use to be a great little town, those days are long gone.”

From the same “comment bubble,” we also agreed with the assessment of “ATruthTeller,” who stated:

“I’m deeply appreciative of the new lanes. But it’s just going to get highly congested at the Airport Road and Long Shoals exits until the rest of the highway opens, which is way behind schedule.”

Beyond the critics, we do think a lane-widened I-26 between Asheville and Hendersonville will be less-congested and safer than previously.