With the Stop I-3 Campaign, WaysSouth is helping prevent irreversible damage to our mountain ecosystem, water and air quality, endangered species, local economies, and the natural beauty of our region.
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WaysSouth’s origins in 2005 lay in an organized citizen effort to prevent the construction of Interstate 3, proposed to run from Savannah, Georgia, through Augusta, Georgia, to Knoxville. This effort, and the effort to prevent any similar highway, remains central to our mission.
The proposed Interstate 3 would cut through the mountains of Northeast Georgia, Western North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee, threatening four National Forests and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The damage to the mountain ecosystem, water and air quality, endangered species, local economies, and the beauty of the region would be irreversible. Further, a shorter interstate route from Savannah to Knoxville currently exists (I-95 to I-26 to I-40).
Dozens of organizations within the region that would be affected by I-3 have endorsed and joined our efforts.
In 2010, the Federal Highway Administration issued a request for proposals to conduct the I-3 study authorized in 2005. The FHWA has now entered into a contract for the study, which is projected to take approximately a year. WaysSouth has earned a seat as the only nongovernmental organization on the expert working group monitoring the contractor throughout the study.
You can make a difference.
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About the Federal Highway Administration Study on I-3
Please visit our Maps and Resources page for more information about Interstate 3 and its potential impact on the Southern Appalachians.
View the Stop I-3 photo gallery.
Please also visit the Newsroom pages for I-3 action alerts, media releases, and news coverage.
