For over a decade, plans for a loop on I-26 have been stalled for one reason or another. It started when green activists thought traffic could be facilitated with six lanes instead of the eight the NC DOT proposed. The City of Asheville was persuaded to contract with an independent party that second-guessed the DOT’s plans. Then, the Asheville Design Center came up with a plan that cost twice what some of the DOT proposals cost, but was embraced as incorporating levels upon levels of New Urbanism concepts. It hadn’t undergone any engineering rigor, but the DOT was persuaded to bring it into compliance with its standards and add it to the list of finalist alternatives. Now, the state is indicating that the project will likely be delayed longer than expected due to a shortage of funds.