The Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Asheville Hotel was full of activity. Dozens of people were milling about, examining maps on posters and TV screens, reading pamphlets and peppering state transportation staff with questions.
The topic: the Interstate 26 Connector, a seven-mile highway project that has been in the works since the late 1980s. The northern part of the project is expected to cost $1.2 billion, the largest transportation contract in state history.
The sprawling project — which would link I-26 in southwest Asheville with US 19/23/70 in the city’s northwest — has been debated for decades…