WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Stunning mountain views and clear-running streams make this section of the Nantahala National Forest a magnet for hikers, anglers, and others who love the outdoors.
THE THREAT
An outdated highway expansion plan would necessitate the excavation of 3 million cubic yards of rock in the national forest and require cutting nearly 3,000 feet of tunnel under the Snowbird Mountains.
Completing Corridor K, an outdated highway expansion plan dating from the 1960s, would cut new four-lane thoroughfares through stunning mountain terrain between Asheville and Chattanooga. One of the most damaging segments of the project would push four lanes of asphalt through the Nantahala National Forest and would require boring nearly 3,000 feet of tunnel under the Snowbird Mountains. This 10-mile relocation of U.S. 74 would also be a major new source of pollution in the area’s rivers and streams, producing acid-laden runoff caused by exposing the underlying pyritic rock to the elements. When first proposed 45 years ago, Corridor K was seen as a way to lift Appalachian communities out of poverty. Today these unnecessary road plans threaten the mountain vistas, clear-running streams, and majestic forests that drive a thriving local economy based on outdoor tourism.
