(Correction: The Clay County (N.C.) board of commissioners adopted a
resolution in opposition to Interstate 3 on Dec. 1, 2005. This makes that
board the first in Western North Carolina to vote such a stand. The
Coalition regrets the error.)
For immediate release, February 6, 2006
FRANKLIN, N.C. The Macon County (N.C.) board of commissioners voted unanimously tonight to oppose construction of the Interstate 3 corridor in its backyard.
The boards resolution noted construction of such an interstate through the rugged terrain of Western North Carolina would have a devastating environmental, economic, cultural and aesthetic impact on these mountains
The vote marks the first time local elected officials in the Tar Heel state have formally taken a stand against the route that would cut a wide swath through Southern Appalachia on its way from Savannah to Knoxville, via Augusta.
They did so, the Macon commissioners resolution said, in support and solidarity with our neighboring counties in northeast Georgia, who have expressed their clear opposition to this Interstate Highway.
Officials in four neighboring counties of north Georgia (Habersham, Rabun, Towns and White counties) already have adopted similar resolutions in opposition to the road, and several other localities in both states, are said to be considering similar resolutions.
We are truly grateful one of North Carolinas elected bodies has taken this stand, said Elizabeth Wells, chairperson of the Stop I-3 Coalition, a regional group organizing opposition to the corridor.
Although federal officials have not yet selected a proposed route for the new interstate, last nights vote was deemed particularly important because the U.S. 441 corridor, which connects Macon and Rabun counties via Rabun Gap, is known to be one of the alternatives under consideration by would-be road builders.
The impetus for the interstate proposal originated with state and federal officials in Georgia, but talk of such a highway is beginning to attract growing concern in North Carolina, several speakers said last night, since the downstate politicians in Georgia who are pushing the road the hardest did so without much of a by-your-leave to their neighbors.
Roger Turner, an organizer with the Western North Carolina Alliance and a spokesman for the Stop I-3 Coalition, coordinated the presentation that preceded the unanimous Macon vote tonight. Both he and several other WNCA speakers skillfully played on that budding resentment.
Edna Foster, representing the Highlands, N.C.-based Jackson Macon Conservation Alliance another group working with the coalition, also presented Macon commissioners with a petition containing better than 280 signatures, which registered opposition to the proposed roadway.
The coalition represents a growing confederation of community organizations and conservation groups located in the four-state Appalachian region (see www.StopI-3.org for details, as well as copies of the petition.)
The group is dedicated to stopping an unneeded highway that it believes would do irreparable harm to mountain economies, forests, farms, and streams, and to rural qualities of life rooted in a strong sense of place.
Contacts:
Elizabeth Wells, (706) 878-2030
Roger Turner, (828) 349-1549
Correction: The Clay County (N.C.) board of commissioners adopted a
resolution in opposition to Interstate 3 on Dec. 1, 2005. This makes that
board the first in Western North Carolina to vote such a stand. The
Coalition regrets the error.