The road task forces have been hard at work and have the following to report:

• Corridor K on Pause
• I-3 Plans Stopped in Their Tracks
• A Brief History of the Stop I-3 Effort

Read these articles and more at the WaysSouth Newsletter Page

Rep. Norwood had maneuvered legislation to require the conduct of a feasibility study for a Third Infantry Division Highway, commonly called Interstate 3. This was added to the 2005 Transportation Act.

Excellent reporting from several area newspapers spread the word more widely, and the citizens of the area exploded! Groups were formed in almost every community from Clarkesville GA, to Murphy, NC, and surrounding counties to protest the planned highway. More than 600 people gathered at one meeting sponsored by the Towns County Homeowners, more than 200 at another, and almost 100 paid to give Representative Norwood a piece of their mind when he came to speak in Dillard, GA. After being bombarded by displeased voters for over an hour, Representative Norwood declared that he would say no more about the subject until the study of the highway corridor was completed.

Meanwhile listening to the people, commissioners in five Georgia counties, two North Carolina counties, one city and one Regional Development Area in North Carolina passed resolutions against the highway.

By the end of summer, local groups had joined to form the Stop I-3 Coalition. By-laws for the organization were established, bumper stickers and signs appeared everywhere, and the story was told through the news media on television, through local and Atlanta newspapers, and nationally on National Public Radio. The Stop I-3 Coalition settled into a war of words with legislators and showed at every opportunity the environmental and economic damage that this highway would render on our region.

As the Coalition matured, white papers were written, maps were developed, petitions were signed, an impressive web-site was launched and a full-time executive director was hired in March 2007. The Coalition set the major goal for the ensuing years–no more money should be appropriated for I-3 or any major new highway by any other name that would cut through this region. By 2008 the Coalition had developed political clout and influenced the positions of Congressional and Senatorial candidates as well as the direction of the House of Representatives on issues related to interstate highway plans for our region. However, we did not have the clout to stop the highway feasibility study that Rep. Norwood had put in motion.

In 2010 the Federal Highway Works Administration (FHWA) initiated its process to solicit and select a contractor to conduct the study that Federal legislation required be completed. That same year a contract was let to government contractor ICF International to conduct the study.

FHWA’s plan for the study included formation of an “Expert Working Group” to advise the contractor. FHWA invited the Stop I-3 Coalition to be represented on the Expert Working Group, along with representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Appalachia Regional Commission, various metropolitan planning commissions, and State departments of transportation from Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. From the onset the Expert Working Group asked the question, “What is the purpose and need for this highway?” That question was never answered. In effect, there was no purpose and no need.

As the only non-government member of the Expert Working Group, the Stop I-3 Coalition attended every meeting from 2010-2011, commented on every phase of the study, and kept our stakeholders informed. In the summer of 2011 the feasibility study was completed and sent to FHWA for review. The review process was completed in February 2012 and the study was sent to Congress. Thirty days later the final report was made available to the public. We are pleased with the outcome.

Let us remember and be grateful to those citizen warriors who have led the Stop I-3 fight with their boots and pocketbooks over the past seven years. Your love of this region and your thoughtful efforts and passion for this cause have finally paid off!

The study finds “fatal flaws” in all of the potential routes through the Southern Appalachians and eliminates all routes as infeasible except for one. That route travels west of Augusta, east of Athens and Gainesville, to Dahlonega and from there into Tennessee. Estimated costs range from $701 million to connect highways with basic two lane roads, to $4.845 billion for an interstate level highway on this route.

The study acknowledges the strong public opposition to building an additional major highway through the Southern Appalachians. Ways South supporters can be proud of their success in stopping this bad idea.

Let us celebrate our success, but understand that one task remains. Over a million dollars of the money authorized for this study remains in the Highway Trust Fund and will remain there until Congress rescinds it. As long as that money is still available, a shred of threat remains. Please contact your U.S. Legislators and ask them to rescind the remaining money and put it where it is really needed.

NCDOT, FHWA, and the Appalachian Regional Commission are planning to fund a comprehensive economic planning process for the 7 counties, including Graham and Cherokee, in the Southwestern North Carolina Planning and Economic Development Commission, according to information received from SELC. This process is still in the embryonic phase and the scope of work is not yet clear, however there are some indications that economic development and transportation needs in the seven-county region will be a factor.

An excellent article on this study can be read at this link.

This positive development encourages all of us who love the rugged mountains of Western North Carolina and WaysSouth will continue to follow the progress and keep stakeholders informed.

February 8, 2012

To the Supporters of WaysSouth:

Our sincere thanks to you the supporters of WaysSouth for your generous donations of personal energy and dollars over the past year. The work of WaysSouth has been able to continue because of your continued interest and involvement. The Stop I-3 Project has long been the issue to generate passion and action from many of you. As we begin 2012 we anticipate the end of this ill conceived idea of an interstate between Savannah and Knoxville that would surely destroy sections of our Southern Appalachians. Although some loose ends have yet to be tied up, including submittal of the final DOT report to Congress, we are prepared to declare success with the Stop I-3 Project! We could not have done it without you!

WaysSouth is now in a time of transition. As the Stop I-3 effort winds down our major projects have become Corridor K in North Carolina and Tennessee. WaysSouth will be very active in Corridor K public participation and engineering study issues in 2012. At the same time we are committed to monitor and provide citizen leadership on other transportation issues on Federal, State, and Local levels that impact our Southern Appalachian Region. To focus our efforts, the Board of WaysSouth has prepared and is committed to following our Strategic Plan. Our Strategic Plan is provided to you with this letter so that our supporters will clearly understanding the mission, objectives and priorities of WaysSouth as we move forward.

We will continue to need the support of our volunteers and our contributors in order to work toward the goals described in the Strategic Plan. Volunteers are especially needed who have experience or expertise in highway engineering, grant writing and grass roots organizing in the Carolinas and Tennessee. We also need volunteers to help monitor local and state transportation initiatives and to help communicate with legislators and regulators. If you can provide even a small amount of volunteer time and energy, please contact Terry Miller at trmcha@comcast.net

In these tight financial times we continue to operate frugally and are committed to working efficiently and effectively with the monies donated to WaysSouth. We hope you will consider making a donation to help us capitalize on the successes of 2011 and kick our plans into high gear for 2012. To make a contribution please go to www.wayssouth.org and donate on Pay Pal or you may send your check directly to WaysSouth,1074 Arbor Drive, Lakemont, GA 30552.

Thank you once again and best wishes for the New Year.

Sincerely,

Terry Miller, Chair

Sunset over Ocoee Lake aerial west view. Photo by Ron Lowery

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has named Chilhowee Mountain, TN, in the path of Corridor K,  one of the top ten endangered places for 2012.

“Chilhowee Mountain and the rugged peaks and hollows in its viewshed are in the path of Corridor K, a chain of highways linking Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina,” says the SELC website. “Despite the fact that completion of the interstate system made the project obsolete, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is studying multiple options for finishing the leg of Corridor K running through the Ocoee Region. Among them are proposals for routing a new four-lane, divided highway across the shoulder of Chilhowee Mountain and through largely unspoiled reaches of the Cherokee National Forest.”

Read the full write-up on the SELC website here.

WaysSouth has taken the regional lead on advocating for better, more affordable solutions for Corridor K. We see that improvements to address the handful of bottlenecks and, where needed, additional passing lanes through Ocoee Gorge would allow both recreational and through traffic to move safely. Further, such a solution would be more cost-effective than spending billions on a new and highly intrusive road. WaysSouth is leading citizen participation in the planning process to ensure that options involving improvement of the existing road – common-sense fixes like straightening curves, widening shoulders, and adding passing lanes where appropriate – are properly considered.

• To read more about WaysSouth’s leadership on Corridor K issues, please visit this link.

• For more information about WaysSouth and its involvement in Corridor K, please contact Terry Miller at 423-842-8383 or trmcha@comcast.net.

SELC uses the power of the law to protect hundreds of special places throughout its six-state region of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Top Ten list targets areas of exceptional scenic, ecological, or cultural value that are facing immediate, potentially irreversible threats—and the important actions needed in 2012 to protect our environmental heritage for future generations.

Here are a few highlights—

Won’t you mark your calendar for this event..and take a look at the attached flyer.

LIVE MUSIC – GREAT FOOD – GUEST SPEAKERS – DOOR PRIZES…..October 8, 2011 from 12:00n-4:00pm!

We look forward to seeing you.

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WaysSouth Committee
Marie Dunkle
1-770-335-0967
mdunkle@mindspring.com

]]> http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/09/come-celebrate-our-successes-in-stopping-i-3/feed/ 0 http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/08/us-76-sr-515-upgrade/ http://www.wayssouth.org/2011/08/us-76-sr-515-upgrade/#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:40:45 +0000 WaysSouth http://www.wayssouth.org/?p=652 WaysSouth Voices Newsletter • Summer 2011

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WaysSouth is closely following plans to widen and possibly re-route parts of the U.S. 76/SR 515 highway between Blairsville and Young Harris, GA.  GA Department of Transportation (DOT) initially presented a grand design that would widen the highway, complete with a 32 foot median and turning lanes.  Four route alternatives would take the highway either straight thru the town of Young Harris or via one of three by-pass routes.

Several of the alternatives being discussed would require considerable dislocation and uprooting along the Right of Way. DOT is now considering alternatives to the alignment presented in Open House meetings attended by the public last spring. When they are finalized, DOT will present them to the public in another set of Open House meetings.  WaysSouth will put out the word to supporters when the next meeting dates are announced.

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The 2011 Georgia Legislature, facing a large deficit in potential transportation funding, has chosen to use the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to help get needed additional funding for local transportation projects, roads, bridges and rail.  The complicated procedure is described below.

The SPLOST procedure divides the state into 12 planning groups (regions), which have two members (County commissioner, City mayor, etc.) from each county. The counties were directed to prepare a list of suggested transportation projects by 30 March of this year. Currently, these lists are being reviewed by a subset of the planning team members and senior GDOT personnel with the objective of prioritizing the projects for each planning region.

The lists will be presented to the voters of each planning region along with a request that voters approve the adoption of a 1% additional sales tax to last for 10 years with the possibility of renewal by another vote of the electorate. The vote will be taken in the presidential primary in 2012. If the majority of voters in a region approve the tax it will be levied on all the counties in the region. Twenty five percent of the revenues collected in a given county will be returned to it but the larger share will go to the region as prioritized. Regions that reject the tax will face a penalty of increasing the proposed 10% sharing cost for transportation projects in the counties within the region to 30%. Regions failing to approve the tax will have to wait 24 months before bringing it to the voters again.

The future for the SPLOST idea is not clear. There are questions about the fairness of the prioritization process, the dominance of larger counties over smaller ones, and, of course affordability and the impact of added taxes. WaysSouth encourages our readers to examine carefully the proposals for your respective region.