The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Stop I-3 Coalition (now renamed WaysSouth) are holding a public meeting, 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, May 25, at the United Community Bank building on Morrison Moore Parkway in Dahlonega, Georgia, to discuss the ongoing federal consultant studies of a proposed new major highway from Savannah to Knoxville.  Interstate design is under consideration.

The possible route currently preferred by the federal highway consultants would create something of a new “Northern Arc” through Dahlonega and from there through the Ellijay area before stretching to Knoxville.  Alternative routes were also studied but deemed less feasible.  These included the addition of a major highway that would follow the U.S. 441 corridor through Rabun County, Georgia and Macon County, North Carolina.

“All of the routes proposed by the consultants’ study create major problems in Southern Appalachia,” said Larry Winslett, Conservation Chair for the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We encourage all citizens in north Georgia and nearby Western North Carolina to attend this public gathering to learn more and participate in the discussion.”

Click here for more information about WaysSouth and the highway study: http://www.wayssouth.org/campaigns/stop-i-3/resources/.