To the Editor
Interstate 3: Not dead yet

It has been just over a year since the public information forum at Tri- County Community College alerted our local citizens to the proposal to build an interstate highway through the mountains of Western North Carolina which was advanced in the highway bill signed into law on August 10, 2005.

Here is an update on I-3, now referred to as the Third Infantry Division Highway" by the government, and on the efforts to prevent I-3 from ever being built:

The highway bill provided for 1.32 million dollars for a study and report on the steps necessary to complete a highway from Savannah, GA to Knoxville, TN via Augusta, GA. In the same bill an identical amount was provided to study a companion interstate originally dubbed I-14, which would connect Augusta, GA with Natchez, MS. From there the proposal was put in the hands of the Federal Highway Administration to begin the process of conducting the study.

To date, here is what has happened: The FHWAhas asked for matching funds for the study from the Georgia Department of Transportation and from the Alabama and Mississippi DOT's. The NC DOT has opted out of this phase of the study. Once the matching funds are transferred, the FHWA will put out a Request for Proposals and a contractor will be chosen to conduct the study. That is where things stand. The FHWA has set up a website and anyone can track their progress on the internet at www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/sec1927.

There has been a great deal more progress in terms of the opposition to I-3. From a series of public meetings and press coverage in the summer of 2005, the Stop I-3 Coalition has grown into an effective force ready to mobilize grassroots opposition whenever the I-3 study begins. The Coalition website (www.stopi-3.org) has stayed current with press reports, updates, research, and calls for action from those concerned with preventing the construction of I-3 or any similar highway. Monthly newsletters are being sent to everyone on the mailing list (to sign up go to the coalition website).

There have also been some very concrete successes in persuading local governments to register their opposition. In North Carolina, Macon, Clay, Cherokee Counties, the Town of Highlands, and the Southwestern Regional Planning Organization have passed resolutions opposing I-3. In Georgia, Rabun, Habersham, White, Towns, and Lumpkin Counties are all on record opposing I-3. Numerous legislators of both parties have also expressed their opposition or reservations. The Coalition is tracking the positions of candidates in this years elections and the results are posted on the website.

The Stop I-3 Coalition has also undertaken the production of small roadside signs in the style of the old Burma-Shave signs which anyone with highway frontage is invited to post (The first installation of these in our area can be seen outside Grove Enterprise on US 64). Also there will be a motorcycle rally to be held Saturday October 28 with riders beginning in Atlanta and ending at US 129 in Graham and Swain Counties with a barbecue planned at Fontana Village at the end of the day. Details are at ww.stopi-3.org.

In a nutshell the Interstate 3 proposal is wounded but not yet slain. Anyone who would like to help make sure our mountain landscapes are not scarred by a superhighway is invited to visit the Coalition's website, join the mailing list, and make a donation if possible. Also, in this election year, all of us can be questioning candidates for office about their position on I-3 and making sure they will help us oppose it once elected.

The Stop I-3 Coalition thanks everyone who has helped with our efforts so far. Together we may be able to win this one!

-John Clarke