‘Road to Nowhere’ Resolution Seems Near

‘Road to Nowhere’ Resolution Appears Near

By CJ Staff

RALEIGH — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr last week called for local communities in western North Carolina to reach a consensus on the future of the North Shore Road, which has been a source of dispute between Swain County residents and the federal government for decades.

Burr’s statement came Tuesday as the Department of the Interior released its long-awaited Environmental Impact Statement, a milestone in a six-year effort to determine the environmental effects of the planned road.

“The Department of the Interior’s environmental report on the North Shore Road is another step in this long process,” Burr said. “But until there is consensus among the local communities to do anything other than build the road, I believe the existing plan should continue.”

The North Shore Road agreement dates to 1943, when the Tennessee Valley Authority sought to build a dam on the Little Tennessee River. Under the memorandum of agreement, Swain County and North Carolina agreed to give the TVA more than 44,000 acres in property.

In return for their property, TVA and DOI agreed to construct a road along the north shore of the new reservoir to replace Highway 228, which was flooded after the dam was constructed. The road has yet to be built, leaving the citizens of Swain County uncompensated for their losses.

“Right now, there is no clear consensus within Swain County about changing the 1943 agreement,” Burr said. “Without all four parties agreeing to a change, the 1943 agreement to build a road is the only fair option.”

Burr, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., have worked for a resolution of the issue this year. Shuler’s predecessor, Republican Rep. Charles Taylor, had long sought federal funding for construction of the road, prompting many critics of pork barrel spending to label the project the “road to nowhere.” Dole and Shuler seek a cash settlement, which Shuler emphasized again after the release of the Department of Interior report.

The National Park Service’s draft environmental impact statement, which was released in January 2006, estimated that it would cost nearly $600 million to complete the North Shore Road, and some estimates have projected a cost of $1 billion.

“With today’s release of the final environmental impact statement, Swain County and all of western North Carolina have taken a significant step forward in resolving an issue that divided our community for over 60 years,” Shuler said. “I am very pleased that the National Park Service has recommended a monetary settlement to Swain County as the preferred alternative. This is a common-sense solution that protects the integrity of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, while also providing Swain County the resources it needs to invest in job creation and schools improvement.”

Shuler said he is trying to ensure a Senate-passed amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill remains in the final conference report of the bill. The amendment, offered by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Dole would allow funds remaining from the Environmental Impact Study to be used as the beginning of a full settlement with Swain County.

A standing resolution passed by the Swain County Board of Commissioners, 4-1, supports the monetary settlement.