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The Road to Nowhere
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MK
Jan 17, 2020, 11:47:42 PM1/17/20
to
Bryson City, North Carolina
This road in the Great Smoky Mountains was supposed to assuage a displaced
community, but ended up a $52 million dead end.
The Fontana Dam, rising high above the Little Tennessee River in western
North Carolina, is the tallest dam in the eastern United States. It was a
long and winding road to getting the dam built, and what was lost during the
journey can be seen in the nearby "Road to Nowhere."
The Lost Town of Proctor
Fontana Dam was built in 1941, on land given over to the Tennessee Valley
Authority by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). The United States'
entry into World War II meant a huge spike in the demand for aluminum for
aircraft, ships, and munitions, so a deal was struck for the TVA to build
the dam with ALCOA as the primary consumer. With a readymade customer in the
U.S. War Department, the aluminum company stood to benefit from all that
hydroelectric power coming in.
The people that did not benefit were the flooded-out communities along the
banks of the rising water. Where there had previously been small towns,
villages, and homesteads along the north side of the river, there was now
Fontana Lake, and the people who lived and worked there were either bought
out or moved off.
To assuage those being displaced, part of the dam deal was to build a road
from Bryson City to Deals Gap along a route north of the river. It was
intended not only to allow people to make the journey but to provide ongoing
access to their ancestral lands and cemeteries. The road was to be cut
through the newly created Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The people were moved, the water rose, and by the 1970s-30 years after the
original agreement was made-only a small portion of the road was built. This
small section, still there today, is about seven miles long and ends
abruptly at a quarter-mile tunnel in the park, in the middle of nowhere.
The road was never finished due to environmental concerns: someone noticed
that snowflakes melted unusually quickly on the newly exposed rock, as well
as a strong smell of sulfur. The rock had the potential to turn runoff
acidic, threatening wildlife in nearby streams. The only solution was to
stop construction.
The road sat unfinished for decades, and finally, the U.S. Department of
Interior agreed to pay a consolation prize of $52 million to Swain County in
lieu of building the road. As of 2016 only $12 million had been paid, and
the county filed a lawsuit for the remainder of the promised money. In 2018,
the last payment was made in the settlement; the funds are held by the state
of North Carolina and Swain County receives interest on the settlement
money.
As for the road itself, it will remain as it is now: going nowhere. It's no
wonder one landowner has maintained a now-iconic sign:
"Welcome to the Road to Nowhere-a broken promise! 1943 - ? ?"
Reply: Perhaps President Trump should make North Carolina great again, and
fufill President Franklin Rosevelt's dead promises?
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-road-to-nowhere-bryson-city-north-carolina
This road in the Great Smoky Mountains was supposed to assuage a displaced
community, but ended up a $52 million dead end.
The Fontana Dam, rising high above the Little Tennessee River in western
North Carolina, is the tallest dam in the eastern United States. It was a
long and winding road to getting the dam built, and what was lost during the
journey can be seen in the nearby "Road to Nowhere."
The Lost Town of Proctor
Fontana Dam was built in 1941, on land given over to the Tennessee Valley
Authority by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). The United States'
entry into World War II meant a huge spike in the demand for aluminum for
aircraft, ships, and munitions, so a deal was struck for the TVA to build
the dam with ALCOA as the primary consumer. With a readymade customer in the
U.S. War Department, the aluminum company stood to benefit from all that
hydroelectric power coming in.
The people that did not benefit were the flooded-out communities along the
banks of the rising water. Where there had previously been small towns,
villages, and homesteads along the north side of the river, there was now
Fontana Lake, and the people who lived and worked there were either bought
out or moved off.
To assuage those being displaced, part of the dam deal was to build a road
from Bryson City to Deals Gap along a route north of the river. It was
intended not only to allow people to make the journey but to provide ongoing
access to their ancestral lands and cemeteries. The road was to be cut
through the newly created Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The people were moved, the water rose, and by the 1970s-30 years after the
original agreement was made-only a small portion of the road was built. This
small section, still there today, is about seven miles long and ends
abruptly at a quarter-mile tunnel in the park, in the middle of nowhere.
The road was never finished due to environmental concerns: someone noticed
that snowflakes melted unusually quickly on the newly exposed rock, as well
as a strong smell of sulfur. The rock had the potential to turn runoff
acidic, threatening wildlife in nearby streams. The only solution was to
stop construction.
The road sat unfinished for decades, and finally, the U.S. Department of
Interior agreed to pay a consolation prize of $52 million to Swain County in
lieu of building the road. As of 2016 only $12 million had been paid, and
the county filed a lawsuit for the remainder of the promised money. In 2018,
the last payment was made in the settlement; the funds are held by the state
of North Carolina and Swain County receives interest on the settlement
money.
As for the road itself, it will remain as it is now: going nowhere. It's no
wonder one landowner has maintained a now-iconic sign:
"Welcome to the Road to Nowhere-a broken promise! 1943 - ? ?"
Reply: Perhaps President Trump should make North Carolina great again, and
fufill President Franklin Rosevelt's dead promises?
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-road-to-nowhere-bryson-city-north-carolina
mixed nuts
Jan 18, 2020, 1:13:18 AM1/18/20
to
ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is helping Mr. The
President Trump and Senator Moscow Mitch McConnell create thousands of
aluminum jobs in America?
https://time.com/5651345/rusal-investment-braidy-kentucky/
--
Grizzly H.
"Sir Hømer Hall, Esq."
Jan 18, 2020, 11:21:06 AM1/18/20
to
--
Yours Truly, Sir Gregory
Nadegda, kensi, Fran, Pandora » these are easily
ignøred misandrists and anti-American, leftist liars.
mixed nuts
Jan 18, 2020, 1:07:26 PM1/18/20
to
On 1/17/2020 11:47 PM, MK wrote:
> To assuage those being displaced, part of the dam deal was to build a road
> from Bryson City to Deals Gap
There's a superhighway between them places now, with motorcycle resorts,
> from Bryson City to Deals Gap
campgrounds, fast food joints, and prolly even miniature golf places
with hot dog's and ice cream's where people can feel right at home. So,
they don't need no damn dirt road winding through the forest where the
bears can attack people who get stuck in the mud.
--
Grizzly H.
Fran
Jan 18, 2020, 7:26:54 PM1/18/20
to
Graham
Feb 28, 2020, 6:25:57 PM2/28/20
to
Op 18-1-2020 om 05:47 schreef MK:
> xxxx
Raven
Feb 28, 2020, 6:28:59 PM2/28/20
to
Graham used his keyboard to write :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtRv5oMJdwU
> Op 18-1-2020 om 05:47 schreef MK:
>> Bryson City, North Carolina
>
Nice little choke and puke truck-stop there.
>> Bryson City, North Carolina
>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtRv5oMJdwU
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