5 questions for Henderson County heading into 2024

Dean Hensley, Hendersonville Times-News
·5 min read

As we head into the new year 2024 in Henderson County, here are five questions that will be answered in the next 12 months.

When will the Henderson County 2045 Comprehensive Plan be adopted and what will it look like?

It's been a hot topic for about a year and a half now, since the 2045 Comprehensive Plan was first introduced in 2022.

Henderson County government leaders have been working all throughout 2023 to finalize the plan and get it adopted. There was hope it might be done by the end of 2023, but the Henderson County Board of Commissioners wanted to be sure everything was in order before adopting the plan.

More: Farmland vanishing: Developers paying big bucks for Henderson County property

Some of the big concerns are land conservation as well as infrastructure to meet the demands of the ever-growing population in Henderson County, which should top the 120,000 milestone this year.

The Board of Commissioners reported that it is currently editing the Future Land Use Map, and the most recent edits were not reflected in the current posted draft of the plan. Once commissioners have approved all map edits, the plan will be updated once again and posted to the following website: https://www.hendersoncounty2045.com.

The Board of Commissioners next meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 2, and included on the agenda is "continued discussion of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan."

Will the Henderson County portion of the Ecusta Trail be open by the end of 2024?

When completed, the Ecusta Trail will be a 19.4-mile multiuse, paved pathway along the former Watco Rail Line and will connect the cities of Hendersonville and Brevard.

A look at parts of the future Ecusta Trail on an abandoned railroad from Hendersonville to Brevard.
A look at parts of the future Ecusta Trail on an abandoned railroad from Hendersonville to Brevard.

In October, community leaders gathered at the Veterans Healing Farm in Hendersonville and held a groundbreaking for Henderson County's portion of the Ecusta Trail. The first 6-mile stretch of the trail will start in downtown Hendersonville, go through the town of Laurel Park and end at Battle Creek off U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. The second phase in Henderson County is in the planning stages, and that will take the trail to the Transylvania County line.

So, when is the Henderson County portion expected to be completed? According to Friends of the Ecusta Trail, construction of the first 6-mile stretch is expected to be completed in one year, so it is possible that it could be done by November 2024 and open to the public.

As far as completing the entire trail, it is expected to take between three to five years.

More: Community celebrates groundbreaking of first 6-mile stretch of Ecusta Trail

What will be happening with construction on Interstate 26? When will it be completed?

The Interstate 26 widening project spanning two counties (Henderson and Buncombe) began in October 2019 and was first set to be completed in 2023, but due to weather and other delays, the project will move forward into 2024.

Will it be done in the next 12 months? That's a question that's tough to answer, because it depends on many factors. But there will be some major milestones in the construction process in 2024, as the final stages are in place for completion.

There have already been big changes to I-26, including the building of the new rest areas close to the Asheville Regional Airport. There has also been the partial addition of the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge near the Skyland exit.

That is just one of several new bridges being built over I-26. The others are as follows:

  • Biltmore Access Road

  • Glen Bridge Road

  • Fanning Bridge Road

  • Cane Creek Road

  • Butler Bridge Road

  • Naples Road

  • Brookside Camp Road

  • Clear Creek Road

  • Clear Creek Road

According to the NCDOT website, the project is scheduled to be done in 2024, but it doesn't give an exact month — only time will tell.

Will Henderson County Public Schools break the law for the second time in as many years with an early start to the 2024-25 school year?

On Jan. 8 at the Henderson County Board of Education meeting, board members will be voting on whether to approve the 2024-25 school calendar.

The first draft presented to the board was in December, and it has an early start date for students on Aug. 12. Just like last year, this would again be against the state law, which states that the first day of school can be no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26, 2024.

Last year, HCPS started two weeks ahead of the state-mandated start date, as did several other schools in the state. HCPS Superintendent Mark Garrett told the board at the December meeting that even though it was breaking the law, the school system hasn't heard a word from the state about it.

Last year's vote was split among board members for the early start date, and that looks to be the case again this year. In 2023, Blair Craven, Jay Egolf, Robert Bridges and Stacey Caskey voted in favor of starting early, while Kathy Revis, Alyssa Norman and Shelia Dale voted against it.

Board members voiced their opinions at the December meeting, and once again, Craven, Egolf, Bridges and Caskey were for the early start, while Revis, Norman and Dale were against it, stating they took an oath to uphold the law.

More: Henderson County Schools looking to break law again with 2024 early start

What is the county's health outlook for 2024? Is COVID back on the rise? What about the flu and RSV?

Around now since 2020, the coronavirus is still mutating and still getting people sick nationwide. The Henderson County Department of Public Health just recently reported a death due to COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control has identified seven COVID variants so far, with likely more to come. Flu and RSV, both respiratory illnesses caused by viruses, have been on the rise as of late. The Henderson County Department of Public Health reported that flu, RSV and COVID hospital emergency room visits have been climbing through the holiday season.

A flu-related death and also a coronavirus-related death have been recently reported by the Henderson County Department of Public Health. The health department reports vaccines are the best prevention for these viruses and is urging the public to get vaccinated.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: 5 questions for 2024 for Henderson County: Ecusta Trail, I-26, etc.