Last Updated on February 27, 2020 11:56 am
Motorists will notice quite a different sight as they travel in the area of Highway 105 and Broadstone Road, or rather they will notice the lack of a certain sight.
A building that stood at the intersection of the two roads for many years was demolished on Wednesday. While many current residents will recall the location as the “Ham Shoppe” for the last roughly 25 to 30 years, long time residents and natives knew it as “Shore's Store” before that.
Workers on site told WataugaOnline.com that once the building is completely removed, which is expected to be on Thursday weather pending, then the space will be backfilled with dirt.
The demolition is part of the start of the 105 widening project, which as of this article is expected to begin in Fall 2022. The building of a new bridge had been scheduled for later this year. Late Wednesday afternoon WataugaOnline.com reached out to NCDOT officials. On Thursday Mike Pettyjohn with NCDOT responded, “The bridge portion of the project is scheduled to be let in February 2021 and the remainder of the work from Boone to SR 1136 (Clarks Creek Road) is scheduled to be let in October 2022. Both projects are subject to change depending upon the funding issues at the time.”
Another former business on the Boone side of the 105 bridge, most recently a fishing store, was demolished within the last few weeks.
This marks the second time in less than a year that a long-standing structure in Valle Crucis has been removed. In May 2019 the pedestrian bridge at Camp Broadstone was removed after damage from a dump truck pulling a track hoe on a trailer struck the bridge.
Videos and Photos: Kenneth Reece/WataugaOnline.com
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