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Re: The Road to Nowhere

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Op 18-1-2020 om 05:47 schreef MK:
> 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
> 
> 
> xxxx

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Thread

The Road to Nowhere "MK" <Ms.Kitty@home.net> - 2020-01-17 22:47 -0600
  Re: The Road to Nowhere mixed nuts <melopsitticus@undulatus.budgie> - 2020-01-18 01:13 -0500
  Re: The Road to Nowhere "Sir Hømer Hall,  Esq." <greghall@høme.fake> - 2020-01-18 11:21 -0500
  Re: The Road to Nowhere mixed nuts <melopsitticus@undulatus.budgie> - 2020-01-18 13:07 -0500
  Re: The Road to Nowhere Fran <f2r2a3n4@loonynutters.com> - 2020-01-19 11:26 +1100
  Re: The Road to Nowhere Graham <j.hutson@chello.nl> - 2020-02-29 00:25 +0100
    Re: The Road to Nowhere Raven <raven@invalid.net> - 2020-02-28 18:28 -0500

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