A clear path: interstate connector boosts three counties.

• Author: Clouse, Caroline
• Position: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION - Highway construction in North Carolina

At first glance, it's just 41 miles of road. But community leaders in the three counties bisected by U.S. 321 from Interstate 40 in Hickory south to 1-85 in Gastonia consider that stretch to be more than gray pavement. They see it as an economic driver that will determine much of the future of Catawba, Lincoln and Gaston counties.

The largely undeveloped land along the widened road, they say, is prime for business. What's so special about it? First, there is the proximity to the interstates themselves. There also is easy access to Charlotte--including Charlotte/Douglas International Airport--and an abundance of trained workers and resources for additional training. That's why all three counties have been marketing the U.S. 321 corridor for several years.

Tom Watson Jr., president of Gastonia-based Watson Insurance Agency and an advocate for economic development in Gaston County, says transportation will only get better. He notes that the state Department of Transportation plans to improve east-west travel between 1-85 west of Gastonia and 1-485 in Charlotte, which would boost cargo movement from the Charlotte airport to distribution centers in Gaston and surrounding counties. When that happens, he says, it will "fire an economic engine like you've never seen."

Barry Matherly, executive director of the Lincoln Economic Development Association, agrees that better roads and other transportation improvements will make the region more attractive to manufacturers. Charlotte has long been a key distribution point because of the two interstates through it, its rail system, inland terminal and international airport. Now those advantages are helping Lincoln County, too.

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Chicago-based furniture retailer Crate & Barrel recently opened an $8.6 million distribution center in the Lincoln County Industrial Park, just north of Lincolnton off U.S. 321. Newport Beach, Calif.-based RSI Holding, parent of RSI Home Furnishings, is spending $9.3 million to expand its factory, which makes cabinets and countertops, at the park. Both companies say transportation is the biggest reason they came there. "Being part of the region, Lincoln plays off that," Matherly says. More than 2 million square feet of industrial space has been developed in the park. Businesses there employ about 1,400. One key tenant is Japan-based Cataler, which invested $60 million to develop a 100,000-square-foot plant shortly after the park opened in 2001. It employs about 90 making catalytic converters for automobiles.

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The highway is critical for distribution companies in the park to ship their products. In addition to Crate &amp...