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TDOT Considers Alternatives

added 9.13.10

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.

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Transportation agencies look at 2-lane alternatives

added 2.3.10

In a significant development in SELC's efforts to stop this massive, unneeded highway through some of the most pristine areas of the Southern Appalachians, the Departments of Transportation in North Carolina and Tennessee are now studying a number of scaled-back alternatives for the remaining sections of the Corridor K project connecting Chattanooga and Asheville.

Along with their original proposals to build new four-lane sections through undeveloped land, both TDOT and NCDOT are now including two-lane routes that entail upgrading existing highways as they continue their environmental studies.   Upgrading and improving existing two-lane highways would protect numerous natural areas like the Ocoee River and gorge in Tennessee, and the pristine Stecoah and Cheoah Bald areas in North Carolina.

They would also save state and federal taxpayers substantial money. For example, one 20-mile section of a new, four-lane highway in Tennessee is projected to cost $1.3 billion, whereas improvements to Highway 64 could be completed for as little as $304 million. 

In the fall of 2009, SELC submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers (which must issue permits for the projects) outlining our strong objections to the massive Corridor K plans. Following tremendous public opposition to the states' original ideas for four-lanes through the area, the Corps  told NCDOT in October that it must consider the alternative of upgrading existing two-lane roads.

See SELC's press release here.