Corridor K: Putting the Brakes on an Outdated Highway Proposal
Proposal Would Jeopardize Unbroken Mountain Forests
TDOT Considers Alternatives
When Tennessee transportation officials first began proposing improvements to roadways along Corridor K, which runs through the mountains between Chattanooga and Asheville, the only options on the table were new interstate-size highways—including a proposal to cut four lanes of asphalt through the Cherokee National Forest near the Ocoee Gorge. But now, as an environmental review of the project gets under way, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is willing to consider low-impact and cost-effective alternatives we have advocated. SELC and our partners in the WaysSouth coalition favor upgrades to the existing two-lane highway, U.S. 64, along its current footprint. New turning lanes, passing lanes, and pull-over lanes at key locations, for example, could improve safety and drivability while avoiding damage to bear habitat, mountain streams, and scenic vistas.
Case Summary
Some of the most stunning mountain forests in the Southeast are imperiled by rekindled pressure to link Chattanooga and Asheville with a new unbroken chain of four-lane highways—along a route known as “Corridor K.” The two cities are already connected by interstates 75 and 40.
First proposed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in the 1960s, Corridor K was then seen as an economic boon for the area south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Today, however, it’s clear that the remaining segments of this project would jeopardize the region’s true economic engine: the unspoiled vistas, clear-running trout waters, and backcountry recreation sites that drive outdoor tourism.
Pushing Asphalt Through Rough Terrain
Four-lane highways already extend over much of Corridor K. Completing the remaining portions would entail cutting new roads through steep, mountainous terrain, which would exact a huge toll on the region’s natural heritage and taxpayers’ pocketbooks.
The Tennessee and North Carolina departments of transportation are conducting analyses of Corridor K expansions that have been proposed in their states. SELC is weighing in to make sure these studies thoroughly examine the severe environmental damage the projects would cause and that they fully consider less destructive alternatives―such as rerouting truck traffic during tourist season and upgrading targeted sections of the highways to improve safety. Most of all, we want to drive home two key points: there is little need for all this new asphalt, and there are better ways to spur economic development.
A Threat to the Cherokee National Forest
In Tennessee, the department of transportation is currently working with a citizen resource team to assist in establishing the need for improvements to Corridor K and in identifying possible study corridors for the project. Although the department is “starting over” and evaluating various alternatives to address transportation problems in the area, a proposal that was previously studied by the department is still on the table and is being pushed by some politicians and interests. It calls for moving a 20-mile stretch of U.S. Route 64 from its current path through the Ocoee Gorge and rerouting it as a four-lane divided highway through the Cherokee National Forest. In addition to chopping up the southern half of the Cherokee, this proposal would severely degrade habitat for black bear and other wildlife. It also would require blasting through rocky areas containing the mineral pyrite, resulting in potentially disastrous acidic runoff in rivers and streams.
A Threat to the Snowbird Mountains
In North Carolina, the proposal for Corridor K includes expanding a 10-mile stretch of U.S. Route 74 to four lanes between Stecoah and Robbinsville in Graham County―at a cost of some $38 million a mile. The road would slash through the Nantahala National Forest, would necessitate the excavation of 3 million cubic yards of rock, and would require cutting nearly 3,000 feet of tunnel under the Snowbird Mountains. As in Tennessee, the pyritic rock exposed by the project would result in acid-laden runoff in mountain streams.
NCDOT’s own studies show that the new road would do little if anything to improve travel times in the area. In fact, with modest improvements, current roads could handle projected traffic levels for 20 years or more. The environmental and taxpayer costs of completing Corridor K far outweigh any transportation gains.