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TN Segment08/03/2009, Chattanooga Free Times Press The long-planned, $1.5 billion four-lane highway through the Ocoee Gorge called Corridor K is now completely off the drawing board, according to Tennessee Department of Transportation officials. "We're starting all over again," said Wes Hughen, project director with the state Department of Transportation. "Everything's possible, and any suggestion will be considered." US Highway 64/Corridor K is a route on the Appalachian Development Highway System envisioned in the 1960s by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The aim was to spur economic development between Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tenn., on the west and Asheville, N.C., on the east. Read more... 07/23/09, Cleveland Daily Banner Final Corridor K plan remains on the drawing table No one at the Corridor K workshop Monday seemed to disagree on the need for an alternative to the road through the Ocoee Gorge. Disagreements occured when trying to decide what the alternative should be. Conservation Planner Hugh Irwin with the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, based in Asheville, N.C., had been following Corridor K for a number of years when the original environmental impact statement was completed. He believes the problems on Highway 64 could be fixed with the large amount of money being discussed. Read more... 07/21/2009, WATR COLUMN - Watershed Activities Thoroughly Reviewed Benton, Tenn., July 21, 2009 -- The presidency of James K. Polk in 1845-49 was a time of westward expansion, adding Texas and parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Now the county that is named for Polk here in East Tennessee is trying for some expansion of its own, seeking to be the locale for one of the last unfinished stretches of the Appalachian Regional Commission's Corridor K developmental highway. Read more... 06/28/09, Polk County News Possible routes for Corridor K have been identified by computer software, although consultants stress that's a long way from an actual alignment.
Representatives of URS, the company working on the Transportation Planning Report for the Hwy 64 bypass, met last week with elected officials from Polk and Bradley counties, as well as representatives of state and federal government and the Appalachian Regional Commission, which has committed the bulk of the funds. The TPR, which is expected to be completed in April 2010, is the first step in the highway project, to be followed by the Environmental Impact Statement on specific alignments. For now, the emphasis is on involvement as well as identifying possible routes. URS officials are also meeting with a citizens group, representatives of agencies that will be involved in the final approval process, and economic and environmental leaders. The first public meetings will be open houses planned for 5-8 p.m. July 20 at Copper Basin High School and July 21 at Polk County High School. Read more... Download .pdf of Corrider K planning continues 06/21/09, Polk County News A group of citizens is among those playing a role in planning for Corridor K. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is using a Context Sensitive Solutions approach with this project, which includes recommendations from the public as the project is developed rather than after the engineering work is complete as well as emphasis on sensitivity to the local environment. Shortly after URS was chosen to create the Transportation Planning Report and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project, plans were put in place to select a Citizen's Resource Team. Planning Communities LLC, a subcontractor to URS, is a consultant for the citizen group. Read more... Download .pdf of Citizens play a role in Corridor K 04/08/09, Polk County News Local, state and federal officials met last week for the annual Ocoee Stakeholders meeting hosted by Congressman Zach Wamp at the Ocoee Whitewater Center. Those in attendance received updates on a variety of efforts that have a regional impact. "This is a special place, an engine for the whole region," Wamp said. Tom Speaks, Cherokee National Forest Supervisor, said the Whitewater Center continues to evolve and change, with a sandwich shop planned for the lower level. He said a Hiwassee-Ocoee Corridor Plan has been developed, and he voiced excitement over archeological discoveries at Fort Armistead in Coker Creek, which was purchased for the Forest Service. Speaks said the federal stimulus will have some positive impact, allowing for work that has not been funded for years. Read more... Download .pdf of Ocoee Stakeholders Meet 03/17/09, Times Free Press DUCKTOWN, Tenn. -- With gas prices down and federal stimulus money on the way, it looks like it could be a bright summer season for tourist destinations in the Ocoee area. "The Ocoee is a crown jewel of outdoor recreation in the United States, and this is an (economic development) engine for the entire area," U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said Monday during a meeting at the Ocoee Whitewater Center. Officials from the National Forest Service, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Overhill Association, and Polk and Bradley counties spoke, along with Ocoee Outfitters Association President Carlo Smith. Read more... Download .pdf of Tennessee: Ocoee stakeholders hopeful for summer tourist season 8/26/08, Cherokee Scout Corridor K would not benefit Volkswagen "Len James tried to make a case for the construction of a four-lane bypass of the Ocoee Gorge on the basis of the needs of the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. There are a number of errors in his reasoning that can be easily verified by consulting the coverage in the business press. First, the Chattanooga Volkswagen site already has a rail link, which was provided as part of the deal. Most new Volkswagens will be shipped by rail, not truck. Second, this assembly plant will be building cars for the domestic market, not for export. There is no reason to worry about trucking these cars to an Atlantic port for shipment to Europe." Read more... 1/19/08, Chattanooga Times Free Press "A highway that potentially could bring 7,000 new jobs into the region between Chattanooga and Asheville, N.C., has been approved for study, Tennessee Department of Transportation officials said Friday. Wes Hughen, TDOT’s Corridor K project manager, said Commissioner Gerald Nicely approved conducting a transportation planning report and a new environmental impact statement for U.S. Highway 64, or Corridor K. Mr. Hughen said once the transportation report is complete, new road alignments will be offered, possibly north and south of the existing road that runs through the scenic Ocoee River Gorge." Read more... 1/15/08, Chattanooga Times Free Press Corridor K alternate proposal draws fire 'GREASY CREEK, Tenn. -- A road built across Little Frog Mountain near the Ocoee Gorge would leave a footprint, no matter how "green" roadbuilders made it, environmentalists said this week. "There's ways to build highway with less impact," said Holly Demuth, executive director of the Stop I-3 Coalition. "But it still brings in 18-wheelers."' Read more... 1/9/08, Polk County News Corridor K project moving toward new design "The Corridor K project through the Ocoee gorge is once
again entering the Environmental Impact/Design phase.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is currently
in the process of selecting the firm that will do this
work. 1/9/08, Polk County News "Four-laning of Hwy. 411 is on the schedule – again – and work is underway on improving traffic around Mac Point. The four-laning of 5.2 miles of Hwy. 411 from Welcome Valley Road in Benton to Lowery Road in Ocoee is scheduled to be let for bids in summer 2008. The 5.3 miles from north of Benton to Hwy. 30 should be let to contract some time in the fall of 2008, according to TDOT spokesperson Jennifer Osborne." Read more... 1/4/08, Chattanooga Times Free Press Rural planners will revote on road priorities 'An error in tabulating votes led to the wrong funding priorities for area roads in a meeting last month, said Kim Harpe, Southeast Tennessee Rural Planning Organization coordinator. "It was my mistake," Ms. Harpe said. "I should have double-checked." Ms. Harpe said the executive board of the Southeast Tennessee RPO will meet Jan. 17 in Pikeville, Tenn., to vote on the correct funding list.' Read more... 12/27/07, Chattanooga Times Free Press Polk attorney Mobbs crusades for Ocoee road "OCOEE, Tenn. -- Almost a year ago, Polk County Attorney Denny Mobbs proposed using a rural highway over Little Frog Mountain as a route for U.S. Highway 64 instead of the winding Ocoee Gorge. Mr. Mobbs said last week he believes the route is the most environmentally and economically responsible." Read more... 12/26/07, Letter to the Editor, Polk County News Scroll down to: "No Corridor K" "Routing Corridor K across Little Frog Mountain along the Forest Service Kinsey Road would be an environmental and economic catastrophe. Acid pyrite runoff would likely be released into the Hiwassee River watershed. Lime pellets must be added periodically in Tellico streams draining from the little used Cherohala Skyway. Similar problems resulted from Foothills Parkway construction. The 2003 TDOT EIS stated many of the 4,600 cars and tractor trailers per day on U.S. 64 would not drive across Kimsey Mountain because the route is nine miles longer while traversing two miles of nine percent grade into the Copper Basin." Read more... 12/18/07, The Chattanoogan "The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) today signed a new pact designed to establish a coordinated planning and development process for transportation projects. The goal of the Tennessee Environmental Streamlining Agreement is to ensure that the state's vital transportation improvements can be implemented without unnecessary delays, while protecting and enhancing the quality of Tennessee's environment." Read more... 12/11/07, Times Free Press An economic study of the region affected by a Chattanooga-to-Asheville, N.C., highway will be completed this week, a transportation official said Tuesday. Julie Oaks, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said Knoxville-based consultant firm Wilbur Smith Associates will forward its study of U.S. Highway 64 to TDOT and the Southeast Tennessee Development District on Monday. She said TDOT officials will then look at the findings. "We expect our review to take no more than two weeks," Ms. Oaks said. Beth Jones, executive director for SETDD, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Preliminary findings released almost two weeks ago said improvements are needed on U.S. Highway 64, or Corridor K, where it passes through the Ocoee Gorge. Read more... Download .pdf of Moving on U.S. 64 11/29/07,Chattanooga Times Free Press Momentum gains on Chattanooga-Asheville road "Widening Corridor K has been debated since it first was listed as an economic development corridor by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965. Proponents of the road say it would bring economic prosperity to a historically poor region. Environmentalists say a road would damage the environment, destroy artifacts and cost billions of dollars better spent elsewhere." Read more... 11/29/07, Hiwassee
River Watershed Coalition, Inc. "A poll of businesses is done 'in the blind' as a consultant asserts that 85 of them support the $2.3 billion highway construction project that somehow would traverse the rugged Ocoee River region" Read more... 5/15/07, Hiwassee River Watershed
Coalition, Inc. "The remote Kimsey Mountain Road runs east from Tennessee Highway 30 near Reliance, up and over peaks as it takes you toward Murphy. This is a rugged 12-mile-long gravel trail high up in Tennessee’s Little Frog Wilderness, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. I drove it today in my pickup truck. Rounding curve after curve, you bounce along over gravel, even boulders, as you grip the wheel with both hands and your tires hug a two-lane path along the rim of a breathtaking horseshoe-shaped valley. This powerful scene of mountain splendor is dotted with rhododendron, mountain laurel and wild azalea. Elevation changes here are dramatic, ranging from 1,200 to 3,332 feet, according to www.wilderness.com and the runoff from the steep slopes on the northern rim of the horseshoe drains into the Hiwassee River." Read more...
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