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North Shore Road Draft EIS Ready
1/13/06
http://www.thesmokymountaintimes.com/articles/2006/01/13/news/news01.txt
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
and Federal Highway Administration have released a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) defining expected impacts and
projected costs of building the proposed North Shore Road and four
alternatives.
A series of five public meetings will
be held in February to solicit comments on the 522 page document and
five volumes of appendices.
The DEIS identifies payment of a cash
settlement to Swain County in lieu of any further road construction
as the “Environmentally Preferred Alternative” to resolve the
60-year controversy over construction of the road.
However, the National Park Service has
not yet identified a “Preferred Alternative” in the draft statement.
“We have postponed selection of a
preferred alternative to allow time for the public and resource
agencies to review the DEIS,” GSMNP Superintendent Dale Ditmanson
said. After a full review of the DEIS and careful consideration of
the comments received, a Preferred Alternative will be identified in
a Final Environmental Impact Statement which is expected in about
12-14 months.”
The DEIS contains extensive information
about estimated construction costs and time frames, and the extent
to which various alternatives could affect the park's natural and
cultural resources. The DEIS estimates the cost of building the
entire 34.3-mile Northern Shore Corridor from the end of existing
Lakeview Drive (north of Bryson City) to N.C. 28 below Fontana Dam
at up to $589.7 million, for a two-lane paved road. It estimates the
cost of a lower standard gravel road at $335.1 million.
Other alternatives under study are:
€ Building only eight miles of new road
to a new visitor center on Fontana Lake at Bushnell, at a cost of
between $92.2 million and $148.6 million, depending on road
standard.
€ Adding a Laurel Branch Picnic area at
the end of Lakeview Drive is estimated at $13.7 million.
€ Providing a $52 million cash payment
to Swain County in lieu of any further road construction. The
current Swain County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution,
voting 4-1, to accept this solution.
€ The final alternative is to take no
action.
According to the National Park Service,
the DEIS shows that construction of the entire North Shore Corridor
would have “major adverse and long-term impacts to geology as a
byproduct of excavating 2.9 million cubic yards of potentially
acidic rock. Major adverse impacts are also likely to Park
floodplains, wetlands, rare plant communities, the Oliver darter (a
fish species of federal concern), trails and archeological sites.”
Major beneficial impacts of road
construction reported in the DEIS would be the increased economic
activity associated with construction, and an increase in tourism
after the road is finished.
Five DEIS public hearings have been set
for: Feb. 2 at Swain County High School, Bryson City; Feb. 6,
Robbinsville High School, Robbinsville; Feb. 7, Asheville
Renaissance Hotel, Asheville; Feb. 9, Knoxville Marriott Hotel,
Knoxville, Tenn.; and Feb. 13, Gatlinburg-Pittman High School,
Gatlinburg, Tenn (Postponed till Feb.21,
Sugarlands Visitor Center). All meetings will begin at 4:30
p.m.
The DEIS is available online at:
http://www.northshoreroad.info/draft_eis.htm. Hard copy and
electronic copies are available for viewing at several locations
including Marianna Black Library, Bryson City, Qualla Boundary
Public Library, Cherokee, Graham County Public Library,
Robbinsville; and Pack Memorial Library, Asheville.
For More Information on the North Shore Road
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