In our May newsletter, we noted that a consultant (Wilbur Smith Associates of Tennessee) was holding a series of public meetings to discuss a “draft economic development strategy” for the proposed Corridor K highway that would link Asheville to Chattanooga. The Corridor K route is basically East-West and Interstate 3 would be North-South but both highways would cut through the same mountainous areas of Western North Carolina. Sections of Corridor K, if it were to be built first, could morph into parts of an interstate at a later date. These include the remaining unbuilt sections of Corridor K: the connection from Stecoah to Andrews tunneling through the Snowbird Mountains, and the section from Murphy to Cleveland paralleling US 64 along the Ocoee River. 

Members of the Stop I-3 Coalition who attended the meetings found that they were pre-programmed and focused around economic and development matters to the near exclusion of the drastic environmental impacts and the immense cost of the proposed highway. Participants were basically asked to rubber stamp a prepared document full of assumptions, notably that this area is underserved by roads and that more roads will bring in big industrial employers.

The Stop I-3 Coalition will continue to monitor any moves to further the building of Corridor K. The Coalition Board has determined that our mission of "opposing I-3 or any similar highway" should include scrutinizing other four lane projects in the region, especially those which, like Corridor K, threaten to prepare the way for Interstate 3.

Corridor K is a project of the Appalachian Regional Commission and appears to have some support from elected officials at various levels of government. Please see http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1006 for more background information.