New Ashe County middle school: access road timing and traffic study discussed

District staff told the Ashe County Schools Board of Education that grading work for the new middle school is underway and that the access road to the site has become a critical-path item that must be completed earlier than originally scheduled.

Project staff said the access road will approach the site across the existing practice field, cross a stream and then ascend to the hill where the school will sit; stakes are in place and the team is coordinating with landowners and athletics staff. Board members and staff discussed dust mitigation and offered site visits from the parking lot at the softball fields for members who want to view progress.

A student-submitted anonymous question asked whether adding the pool would worsen morning traffic on Mount Jefferson Road. Staff responded that a formal traffic study was completed, reviewed by a state review group in Raleigh and by the local division engineer, and that both reviewers signed off on the study. Staff described the traffic study as a multi‑part document that models current and projected traffic at different times of day.

The board did not take additional action beyond the update; staff will continue to expedite submittals related to the access road to keep the construction schedule on track.