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The Road to Nowhere

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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

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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

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