What's New on Haywood Road This Summer, and Why It All Looks Familiar

On Haywood Road this summer, the most visible changes are hard to miss. New curb ramps and pedestrian crossings have appeared before the final pavement markings. Flashing crossing signs are in place. Nighttime paving is getting underway. Near the interstate, a much larger construction project is beginning to reshape the eastern end of the corridor.

Then there is the familiar restaurant space at 521 Haywood Road, where another locally owned concept is preparing to move in.

These updates can look like one sudden wave of change. They are really three different timelines meeting in the same place: street improvements West Asheville residents have discussed since the early 2000s, an interstate project debated for decades, and the Haywood Road tradition of putting new ideas into well-known buildings.

That overlap is the real story of what’s new on Haywood Road in West Asheville this summer.

The short version: Haywood Road is being resurfaced from Patton Avenue to Ridgelawn Road, new pedestrian features are taking shape, bike lanes are coming to two sections of the corridor, and work near the I-26 and I-240 interchange is preparing the way for a replacement bridge. Meanwhile, Thunder Burgerz West is planned for the former Taco Boy and Zia Taqueria address.

The new street design has been a long time coming

The most immediate project covers roughly two miles of Haywood Road, from Patton Avenue to Ridgelawn Road. According to NCDOT’s May 2026 update, milling, resurfacing, and restriping were scheduled to begin at night in July. Overnight lane closures will move with the work, and the project is expected to be completed in November 2026.

The full package includes:

• New pavement along the project area
• ADA-compliant curb ramps
• Enhanced pedestrian crossings
• Flashing pedestrian crossing signs and signalization at selected locations
• Bicycle lanes on two portions of the corridor

That sequence explains some of the odd-looking spots residents have encountered. Concrete ramps and crossing features have gone in ahead of the final road surface and striping. A curb line that seems unfinished in July should make more sense after the pavement markings are added.

Where the bike lanes will go

The bike-lane plan deserves a closer look because it does not cover the full two miles.

NCDOT specifies lanes in both directions from Patton Avenue to Sulphur Springs Road. A second set will run in both directions from Richmond Avenue to Ridgelawn Road. The central section between Sulphur Springs and Richmond is not listed as receiving continuous bike lanes.

That distinction matters when picturing the finished road. The project adds bicycle infrastructure, but it does not create one unbroken bike lane from Patton to Ridgelawn.

The final design grew out of a public process that included discussion of crossings, bike lanes, signage, turn lanes, and speed limits. Yet those conversations did not begin with the latest resurfacing schedule.

West Asheville Business Association records trace work on the Haywood Road Vision Plan back to 2003. A public survey followed in 2011, and several hundred people participated in a form-based-code design process in 2013. Asheville City Council adopted the Vision Plan in 2014.

The plan called for more consistent bicycle facilities, additional crosswalks and pedestrian lights, wider sidewalks where appropriate, and closer attention to the future I-26 project. Many of the physical changes appearing in 2026 are versions of ideas that have been discussed locally for years.

The city’s Haywood Road Form District carries the same priorities into its development standards. Its stated goals include supporting existing businesses, preserving existing buildings where feasible, calming traffic, improving walkability, and creating better bicycle, pedestrian, and transit connections.

So while the fresh concrete is new, the thinking behind it is familiar.

Two construction projects are meeting near the bridge

The road resurfacing and the I-26 Connector are separate projects. They happen to be changing Haywood Road at the same time.

The resurfacing work is focused on the street itself between Patton and Ridgelawn. The connector is a much larger interstate project that includes changes around the Haywood Road interchange and the replacement of the bridge over I-26 and I-240.

As of July 12, crews near the interchange were grading, coordinating utility work, shifting roadway alignments, and preparing for the bridge project. Drivers should expect reduced speeds, intermittent closures, changing traffic patterns, and some overnight work as construction advances.

For practical purposes, that means the eastern end of Haywood Road may feel less predictable than the rest of the corridor. A route that worked last week may take a little longer this week. The most useful approach is a simple one: allow extra time, watch the posted signs, and remember that the resurfacing and interstate crews may be working on different schedules.

The right-of-way changes are already visible

The connector’s right-of-way process has begun changing the blocks closest to the interchange. A gas station and Asheville Kava X Coffee closed in late June 2026. Current NCDOT maps also show future impacts to the building occupied by Desoto Lounge and Haywood Famous.

Those same published plans indicate that the historic Friendly’s Grocery building, now home to The Golden Pineapple, is not expected to be taken. Plans can continue to change as engineering and right-of-way work move forward, so business-specific updates deserve careful attribution rather than guesswork.

The broader north section of the connector was projected to affect portions of roughly 170 parcels and involve approximately 80 relocations, including about 45 nonresidential relocations. NCDOT has said those estimates may change as the design advances.

For longtime residents, the work carries an older echo. I-240 cut through West Asheville around 1970, dividing the area and removing buildings near the corridor. Local reporting on the current project has connected today’s removals to that earlier construction, including the loss of a brick commercial building on the same family property now affected by the connector.

That history is one reason the current work can feel both new and deeply familiar. Haywood Road has been shaped by transportation decisions before, and the neighborhood remembers them.

A new restaurant is coming to a very familiar address

At 521 Haywood Road, Thunder Burgerz West is preparing to open a second location. The business is locally owned, but an opening date had not been announced as of mid-July.

The planned menu includes burgers, chicken tenders, hot dogs, pizza, salads, baked potatoes, ice cream, milkshakes, and daily specials. The concept draws on Western North Carolina racing history, classic cars, old Asheville, and the 1957 film Thunder Road.

The address is as much a part of the story as the menu.

Before Thunder Burgerz West, the building housed Taco Boy. Taco Boy opened there in December 2022 after Zia Taqueria and closed in October 2025. Zia had opened in the former Delores & Jose’s space in 2013.

The sequence looks like this:

Delores & Jose’s → Zia Taqueria → Taco Boy → planned Thunder Burgerz West

That kind of succession is common along Haywood Road. A sign changes, a kitchen is reworked, and a space people already know begins another chapter. The building remains part of the neighborhood’s mental map even when the name above the door changes.

Thunder Burgerz adds another layer to the theme. It is a new tenant with a concept centered partly on regional nostalgia, entering a space with its own recent restaurant history.

Haywood Road has always mixed old buildings with new uses

The familiar feeling is built into the corridor itself.

Much of the 700 and 800 blocks falls within the West Asheville End of Car Line Historic District. Haywood Road became West Asheville’s principal commercial corridor after Asheville annexed the area in 1917. A streetcar ran along the road to a turnaround near Brevard Road from 1911 to 1934.

Several recognizable commercial buildings date to that early period:

• The Wells Building at 728 Haywood Road was built in 1917.
• The former Great A&P building at 723 Haywood Road dates to 1926.
• The Monkress Barber Shop building at 725 Haywood Road dates to about 1916.
• The Bledsoe Building was built in 1929.

These buildings have held different businesses across generations. That pattern helps explain why Haywood can change quickly without becoming visually unrecognizable. The business mix turns over, but older storefronts continue to provide a familiar frame.

The neighborhood planning work reflects that history. The Form District calls for preserving and enhancing existing buildings where feasible while allowing a mix of uses. That is a fairly accurate description of how the corridor already functions: reuse the building, change the sign, and find a new purpose for the space.

The regular Haywood Road week is still happening

Construction is part of the summer story, but it is not the whole experience of the street. Several recurring activities continue to give the week its usual rhythm.

The West Asheville Tailgate Market brings produce, meat, dairy products, baked goods, plants, locally made items, live music, and children’s activities to 718 Haywood Road. The market accepts SNAP EBT and credit cards.

At Haywood Country Club, the West Asheville Street Market features rotating vendors selling vintage goods, art, antiques, jewelry, and handmade items.

Story Parlor is hosting local performers during its Friday-night summer music series. One confirmed upcoming performance features Ovadya on August 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.

These routines offer useful perspective. Haywood Road is changing, but it has not stopped functioning as a neighborhood commercial street and gathering place. Supporting businesses during construction can be as ordinary as keeping a Tuesday market habit or checking whether a favorite stop is open before assuming roadwork has closed it.

One more proposal to watch

The city is also considering a redesign of the Asheville Rides Transit bus network. The draft released in May would remove service from an approximately 0.8-mile section of outer Haywood Road between Brevard Road and Patton Avenue. The tradeoff would allow more frequent service in other parts of the system.

That proposal had not been adopted as of mid-July. The public survey closed June 28, and the city said feedback would inform changes before the plan went to City Council. For now, it should be understood as a draft rather than a current service change.

The familiar part is the process

Haywood Road has never stayed still for long. Transportation projects have changed its edges. Restaurants have cycled through recognizable addresses. Early commercial buildings have taken on one use after another. Residents and business owners have spent years discussing how the street should work for people walking, biking, driving, taking transit, and running a business.

Summer 2026 brings all of those threads into view at once.

The pavement will be new. Some signs will be new. The bridge project will change a key entrance to the corridor. Yet the larger pattern belongs to Haywood Road: old plans becoming physical improvements, old buildings finding new tenants, and daily neighborhood routines continuing in the middle of the work.

That kind of local context matters in real estate, too. A street is more than its current construction schedule or latest opening. It helps to understand what came before, what is actually approved, and what is still only proposed.

If a move, sale, or renovation has you asking deeper questions about West Asheville, the Mike Miller Team is here to offer steady guidance informed by decades of local experience and a family-run approach.

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