My daughter is turning 15 this weekend. Every 15 minutes, she reminds me that she will be driving a car in another year. And every 15 minutes, I remind her that so far she has saved exactly $3.78 toward the purchase of her first car.

Canton Town Board Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Carole Edwards had a hard time concealing her dismay at news that Canton’s downtown resurfacing projects weren’t proceeding according to plan.

It’s easy to spot the unstable embankments as you drive over Cowee Mountain between Macon and Jackson counties.

There’s another kink in the knot surrounding the ill-fated R-5000 road project connecting N.C. 107 and N.C. 116 in Jackson County — a legal battle raging between DeVere Construction, the company originally hired to build the road, and its bonding company Liberty Mutual.

Construction on the 0.7-mile connector road through Southwestern Community College has come to a halt after the contractor working on it defaulted on its $15.9 million contract this week.

A devoted customer stood at the counter at Walker Service chatting with Clayton Cathey before picking up his truck for what may be the last time.   

“What’s this rumor I hear about you closing?” the customer asked.

Barring any unexpected circumstances, Howell Mill Road should be open to vehicle traffic in a couple of weeks.

The $11.7 million North Carolina Department of Transportation project began back in May 2015 with road closures beginning in July. The original completion date was set for October 2016, but Nathan Tanner, NCDOT District 14 assistant resident engineer, said some hard work and cooperative weather helped keep the project way ahead of schedule.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park marked a milestone last week with the unveiling of 10 new pieces of equipment to make transportation in the park more energy-efficient. 

A project four years in the making, the new purchases — made using a $239,000 grant — are just the first phase in a three-year plan to reduce emissions in the park.

Sylva is likely nearing the end of a months-long debate over a recurring question: is there a better way to do traffic on Main Street?

A grandiose plan to remake Waynesville’s Russ Avenue commercial corridor into a tree-lined boulevard has gotten a little less grandiose.