The widening of Interstate 26 in Buncombe and Henderson counties is causing emergency lanes to vanish in some sections throughout the construction zone.
It has created what Polk County EMS officials call a significant life safety issue.
“Sometimes, there’s just no place to go,” Polk County EMS Director Michael Crater said.
When Polk County EMS transports a patient to a Henderson County or Buncombe County hospital, it's serious.
“We wouldn’t be going in these directions unless the patient was more sick than what the community hospital can have,” Crater said.
Timing is critical for the nearly 300 patients transferred each year.
“Already we know that patient’s fairly important to get there in a reasonable time,” Crater said.
Construction along I-26 can make reasonable impossible some days.