Corridor K and Common Sense
Executive Summary
US Route 64 through the Ocoee Gorge in Tennessee and US 74 through the Nantahala Gorge in North Carolina have
provided an alternate route from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Asheville, NC for many years. It has been considered a scenic route that allows intimate and beautiful views of the Ocoee and Nantahala Rivers and of the wilderness and natural areas enveloping this splendidly unique area of the South. With increasing population in the area, it deserves improvement. We support that effort.
What is not responsible is to endorse the proposal to build an intrusive four-lane highway commonly referred to as “Corridor
K” through the area. Corridor K would require destructive road building through two highly valued National Forests: the
Cherokee National Forest and the Nantahala National Forest. These forests are critical to wildlife and plant habitat and to
good water quality. In addition the road construction would destroy picturesque mountain communities as well as significant
historic and cultural sites and the mountain views that draw many people to visit these areas in the first place. The
construction of such a road is inconsistent with common sense.
Realities
1. Conceived 44 years ago by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the concept of building a four lane corridor through
this area of Appalachia to facilitate commerce among key southeastern cities and ports has since been rendered
obsolete by the completion of the Eisenhower Interstate System. Efficient transportation is readily accomplished
between Chattanooga and Asheville via I-40, to Atlanta by I-75, and to eastern port cities via I-20 and I-16 with no
appreciable difference in time based on this proposed roadway.
2. This road corridor would be massively destructive to the valuable natural and historic assets of the region. Currently
these assets generate millions of dollars in annual recreational revenue to the mountainous region. Important recreation
resources including the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Benton MacKaye Trail, numerous trout streams and
thousands of acres of hunting habitat would be directly impacted. The surrounding forests are delicately-balanced
sanctuaries for threatened plant and animal species which would also be impacted by such an environmentally
devastating roadway.
3. The U.S. road transportation system has been based on cheap oil. Continuously soaring fuel prices and a diminished
tax base have already resulted in a decline in trucking, while the benefits of railway traffic, already in place, are
increasing substantially.
4. Early construction cost estimates for the Tennessee section of Corridor K approach $2 billion with the State of
Tennessee responsible for up to $500 million. Completing the North Carolina sections is likely to be equally costly. With
budget constraints impacting both the Tennessee and North Carolina Departments of Transportation, and with the
pressing need for existing infrastructure repair and maintenance, it is difficult to justify the priority of completing an
unnecessary and destructive highway that should have been reevaluated decades ago.
Closing Remarks
The proposal to build an intrusive, environmentally destructive, four-lane road through the rugged terrain and forests of the
pristine mountain refuge of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee would be a major departure from common
sense. It would be a disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ dollars during a historic period of economic decline. Existing alternative
roadways and railways offer excellent routing for both domestic and commercial transportation. The proposed four-lane
roadway would be highly destructive to the valuable corridor through which it would intrude.
Contact: Holly Demuth, Exec. Director - Stop I-3 Coalition; holly@stopi-3.org; 706.508.3711
