Western Carolina University will hold a public hearing Tuesday, April 23, to receive comments concerning a university proposal to relocate a portion of Centennial Drive, a state road that currently bisects the center of campus.

The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in the dining room of the University Outreach Center (formerly the Camp Laboratory School building). Representatives from the engineering firm designing the project and from the N.C. Department of Transportation will be on hand to answer questions, said Chuck Wooten, Western vice chancellor for administration and finance.

One of the primary aims of the university’s master plan is to remove primary traffic flow from the center of campus. In its current location, Centennial Drive poses a significant risk for pedestrians, and relocation of the road will open up the campus center to development and safer pedestrian use, Wooten said.

Plans call for Centennial Drive to be rerouted to the south edge of the campus core, but only that portion of Centennial Drive between Walker Residence Hall and Dodson Cafeteria would be relocated, and Centennial Drive from Dodson Cafeteria to the Wachovia Bank intersection would not be affected by the project, Wooten said.

The university hopes to complete the project by 2004, he said.

Under the master plan, through traffic entering campus at the main entrance off N.C. 107 would turn right and follow Catamount Road and a relocated Belk Building Lane onto Forest Hills Road to access the existing business district along Centennial Drive.

For more information about the April 23 hearing, contact Wooten at 828.227.7321.