Rep. Kelly E. Hastings (R-Cherryville) shares a photo of the US 74 Bypass in North Carolina. | Courtesy Photo
Rep. Kelly E. Hastings (R-Cherryville) shares a photo of the US 74 Bypass in North Carolina. | Courtesy Photo
Rep. Kelly E. Hastings (R-Cherryville) participated in a meeting about constructing the U.S. Highway 74 Shelby Bypass nearly 30 years ago, and now those plans have come to fruition and Hastings was able to take a ride on the long-awaited section of highway.
"My former boss, then-Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner, a former [North Carolina Department of Transportation] board member and soon-to-be state senator, Dean Proctor, and former commissioner, Charley Harry, were at the meeting at Don's Pancake House," Hastings wrote on his Facebook page in mid-April.
The bypass stretches 5.6 miles from Peachtree Road near Lattimore to NC 226, according to the Shelby Star.
"Time is going by quickly," Hastings wrote on Facebook. "We successfully fought for the prioritization points from the planning organization and the division engineer so the final phases will be funded too.
Construction began on the project in 2013, according to WSOC TV 9.
Hastings expressed his gratitude to House Speaker Tim Moore, (R-Kings Mountain), for "sharing the goal of getting the project off the ground and funded and for allowing me to serve as a Transportation Committee chairman so I could learn the laws and help move the project toward completion, Hastings wrote on his Facebook page.
The next section of the bypass is currently under construction between NC 226 and NC 150 and expected to be complete by 2022, according to the Shelby Star.
Alerts Sign-up