WOODFIN – Just north of Old Leicester Highway, boulders have been aligned perfectly and set along the banks of the French Broad River. A structure with large, movable concrete blocks protrudes into the water and angles against the grain of the northern-flowing river. While the unusual construction in the river may grab motorists eyes, the project, dubbed “Taylor’s Wave,” may soon draw thousands more paddlers to Western North Carolina.
As an expansive series of connected parks and greenways are expected to be built along the northern section of Riverside Drive, the $4.8 million Taylor’s Wave project figures to be among the most unique. Once finished, Woodfin, a Buncombe County town of 8,100 residents, will be able to claim one of just a handful of United States water features that create a free-standing whitewater wave in a naturally free-flowing river.
The project is scheduled for a summertime completion date and will eventually connect to the town’s Woodfin Greenway and Blueway project — estimated cost $35 million — which connects to Asheville’s River Arts District greenways…