Now the latest attempt to do something about the Taco Bell fiasco is to cover portions of it in black plastic sheeting. It’s a nice gesture, but there is still an eyesore on Highway 421. According to the Wilkes Journal Patriot archives, the sinkhole there dates back to February 2017.
Soon the folks from the east will be making their way through Wilkes County to look at the fall leaves in the mountains. Imagine the impression left with visitors who are looking for beauty and passing what can only be described as a mess. Consider further the impression left with a potential investor in Wilkes County after multiple passes over the past year and a half!
Since this blight on the County appears insolvable, maybe it’s time to route visitors around the blot on the landscape. The Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, the EDC, the elected officials of Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro, and Wilkes County could do something revolutionary—cooperate--and re-route 421 traffic around the sinkhole. The west bound visitors on 421 can exit at the Community College and travel west on 268, which has the feeling of a boulevard. Visitors to the County will be impressed with what a lovely place this is. They can continue on Old 268 and Browns Ford Road and get back to 421. A barricade at that point can route east bound visitors onto the newly formed bypass.
If this suggestion sounds extreme, is it any more extreme than the inertia of the owners of the property and our county leaders to let this problem stay unsolved for over a year?
Soon the folks from the east will be making their way through Wilkes County to look at the fall leaves in the mountains. Imagine the impression left with visitors who are looking for beauty and passing what can only be described as a mess. Consider further the impression left with a potential investor in Wilkes County after multiple passes over the past year and a half!
Since this blight on the County appears insolvable, maybe it’s time to route visitors around the blot on the landscape. The Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, the EDC, the elected officials of Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro, and Wilkes County could do something revolutionary—cooperate--and re-route 421 traffic around the sinkhole. The west bound visitors on 421 can exit at the Community College and travel west on 268, which has the feeling of a boulevard. Visitors to the County will be impressed with what a lovely place this is. They can continue on Old 268 and Browns Ford Road and get back to 421. A barricade at that point can route east bound visitors onto the newly formed bypass.
If this suggestion sounds extreme, is it any more extreme than the inertia of the owners of the property and our county leaders to let this problem stay unsolved for over a year?