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photo: NC DOTExciting news!
Stop I-3 has broadened its mission.
As well as keeping up public momentum to stop I-3, we are
monitoring “Corridor K," which
could destroy the beautiful Ocoee Gorge in Tennessee, as
well as the recently resurrected Northern Arc in north metro
Atlanta. We believe that the transportation needs of our
communities can be met without destroying our environment
and the unique qualities of our region.
This photograph shows the destruction that highway construction
can produce in the Southern Appalachian mountains. This
is the recently completed Scenic Byway portion of I-26
at Buckner Gap north of Asheville, NC.
For more about who we are, our vision,
mission and goals, click here.
AN INVITATION ! |
Stop I-3 Coalition supporter:
You are invited to witness first-hand where the 4-laning of Corridor K in North Carolina overlaps with one of the possible routes of Interstate 3. And enjoy a breathtaking hike, spiked with information about local culture, history, and plants. Wildflowers look to be abounding! See the full announcement below for details.
Many thanks to Stop I-3 Coalition’s supporting organization, Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, for organizing this hike. For information about them and more of the hikes they are offering this summer, go to http://www.safc.org/resources/events.php.
Interpretive Hike with
Wildcrafter & Naturalist Ila Hatter!
When: May 17, 2008
Where: Stecoah Gap
Time: 8:00 am, meet to carpool, 10:00 am hike begins
Length/Difficulty: 2 miles/Easy
Space is limited!
Please call 828.252.9223,
or email Nicole@safc.org
to register for this hike.
Ila Hatter, a descendant of Pocahontas, Wildcrafter and Naturalist, will lead us on a hike overlooking Stecoah Valley. She will talk about the history of the Valley and how the people who live there have used the plants and trees throughout history. We will also talk about the changes coming to the area, with the new proposed road, Corridor K. Our hike will end with a look at some wildflowers and a taste of one of Ila's wild food creations!
Learn more about Ila Hatter at www.wildcrafting.com |
Hikers Say "Too Steep for Corridor K" 
 Photos from March Sierra Club outing and hike in the Little Frog Wilderness, which would be impacted by Corridor K. Hike was about 7.5 miles on the Rock Creek and Dry Pond Lead Trails, starting in the cold and snow of the morning that turned to a beautiful spring day with the snow mainly melted in the afternoon. Afterward hikers took to their vehicles and drove the Kimsey Highway a ways, coming in from the east and TN 68 (Harbuck). Will Skelton writes: "We were absolutely astounded that anyone would think a road should (or even could) be build up the mountain from the east. It would have to ascend a very steep and high mountain wall, then descend and cross numerous valleys as the mountains and ridges are generally running north and south, while the road would run east to west. I understand a big proponent of the road, always takes people in from the western end at Greasy Creek (TN 30), where the climb is more gradual. And that the steepness of this eastern side of the mountains is why TDOT rejected the route four years ago." Photos are available at the website below. They show the precipitous nature of the Kimsey Highway, and how high up it goes (one of the photos has a red circle; the next photo shows, via telephoto, what's within that circle way down in the valley below)."
http://picasaweb.google.com/theskeltonview/
LittleFrogMountainWildernessDayhikeMarch92008
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Newest Supporter:
The Wilderness Society supports Stop I-3 Coalition
Thank you to The Wilderness Society, one of our 38 supporting organizations, for helping to spread the word about Interstate 3. We need as many folks on board to counter this disastrous road as possible. In the most recent America’s Wilderness, The Wilderness Society’s member newsletter, a plea was made to contact Congress to stop this wasteful, harmful road:
"A new interstate, known as I-3 and consisting of at least four lanes, would be built from Savannah, Georgia to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a plan drawn up by former Congressman Charles Norwood (R-GA) and currently under study by the Federal Highway Administration. The proposed route would cut through the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia, passing close to the Blood Mountain, Mark Trail, Tray Mountain, and Raven Cliffs wilderness areas. In western North Carolina, I-3 would go through the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest and skirt the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and the Southern Nantahala wilderness areas. This mountainous option would not only harm pristine forest and its wildlife, it would also be enormously expensive. We have joined the Stop I-3 Coalition to help derail this scheme. Please contact your representatives in Congress to urge them to de-fund this effort and send this proposal back to the drawing board."
If you are a member of an organization that does not support Interstate 3 and would be interested in becoming a supporting organization, contact the Coalition. info@stopi-3.org Our strength is in our numbers, contacts, and expertise. You are a vital part of the effort. |
For
immediate release, January 3, 2008
Stop I-3 Coalition reaffirms position
The Stop I-3 Coalition today reaffirmed its firm opposition
to a new interstate highway from Savannah, Georgia,
to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, “or any similar highway.”
The coalition’s board reaffirmed its stand in
reaction to news reports that Rep. Paul Broun was considering
a technical correction to legislative language, suggesting
that one possible route for the controversial highway
might go through Greenville or Clinton, S.C., on its
way from Augusta, Georgia, to its endpoint.
“With or without the technical correction, we
are opposed to this interstate, which we believe is
unneeded and unnecessary,” said Holly Demuth,
the coalition’s executive director.
Broun, who won a close election to replace the late
Rep. Charlie Norwood, previously had promised to sponsor
legislation that would defund the federal study of
I-3.
“A clear majority of north Georgia residents
view this unnecessary highway as fiscally irresponsible,
and environmentally disastrous," concluded Lucy
Bartlett, the coalition’s president. |
DOT Updates |
12/12/07, The
News Observer
DOT
unfazed by I-40 repairs
"The state Department of Transportation says it felt no pain when it was
forced by the General Assembly to absorb $22.4 million in repair costs for a
bungled paving job on Interstate 40 in Durham County. DOT officials could not
put their finger Tuesday on any projects that were delayed, jobs that were eliminated
or services that were curtailed because of the punitive budget reduction." Read
more...
12/12/07, Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
State
DOT is in disarray, says new chief
"According to its new leader, the state Department of Transportation is
a mess. Gena Abraham, eight days in office as commissioner of DOT, told Gov.
Sonny Perdue Wednesday that her new staff couldn't tell her how many projects
the department has on its books, giving her answers ranging from 1,100 to the
latest answer, 9,211, of which 2,470 are active. She said projects from the Governor's "Fast
Forward" program, for which the state authorized borrowing $3 billion to
accelerate projects, are $4.2 billion over cost estimates, even after a substantial
portion of them were moved off the accelerated list. Open lawsuits against the
department number about 1,553, with no evidence they're being managed in a comprehensive
way. The department's own accounting systems don't talk to each other, she reported.
And there is no one at the department charged with following a project from start
to finish and making sure it gets done." Read
more... |
READ
ALL ABOUT IT!
|
10th
District Candidates: ALL opposed I-3, definitely above
I-85!
Summer, 2007, North Georgia Mountains Magazine
Interstate
Impasse: Where I-3 Met the Mountains
"Affection for the mountains of North Georgia,
western North Carolina and east Tennessee is proving
to be a unifying force. Once the news broke in June
2005 of proposed legislation to fund a $400,000 feasibility
study for the two new interstates in Georgia, citizen
opposition began organizing within days. Chapters
of the Stop I-3 Coalition were springing up in Georgia,
North Carolina and Tennessee. By the time the feasibility
funding was approved in August as part of the Transportation
Equity Act of 2005, the amount had tripled to $1,200.000,
and officials in Georgia’s northeastern counties
of Habersham, Rabun and White had already publicly
resolved to fight." Read
more...
Note: STOP I-3 was unable to endorse a candidate
or publish candidate positions on I-3 because of
our 501(c)3 status and our focus on this one issue.
Now that Dr. Broun has been certified as winner of
the 10th District race with no recount, we are free
to publish quotes from any official. Contact
your Senators and Representatives, let them know
your opposition and the overwhelming opposition to
I-3 in this recent race. Please send
us their quotes along with info about when and where the comment
was made. Help stop the I-3 study NOW! |
August 2007, TIGHT LINES,
Newsletter of the Rabun Chapter (522) of Trout Unlimited,
page 8, col. 1. L.
Re-printed with permission of
the Editor, Doug Adams.
“What's
New Elsewhere”
GA – New 10th Dist Congressman, Dr
Paul Broun, is a Life member of TU and enjoys the
Chattooga backcountry solitude. (7/18/2007)
Dr. Paul Broun Jr. won a narrow upset over Jim
Whitehead, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. Broun
will replace the late Charlie Norwood as 10th District
congressman. For a newspaper story, click Before
the election, Broun was asked his position on 2
important Rabun County issues.
Subject: I-3: Paul Broun replied Friday,
June 29, 2007
“I am totally against I-3.
I would like to de-fund the study. I
will work to get GA 17 completed from
US 441 to Hartwell and made into a federal
highway. I discussed this issue with
Dr. Lucy Bartlett of Tiger Ga. yesterday.
She can fill you in with greater detail.
Please vote for me Thank you. Paul Broun”
Subject: Management of the National Wild and
Scenic (WSR) Chattooga River.
If elected to represent the 10th District, what is
your position?
a. I believe it is public land and should be available
to all recreation activities as long as it does
not damage the physical environment.
b. I believe that conflicting recreation activities
should be zoned so that visitors seeking to avoid
conflicts and/or interference while seeking solitude
and quietness will have a place to go.
c. I believe that the Forest Service process will
arrive at the proper management plan and I will
not interfere in the ongoing process.
Paul Broun replied Tuesday, July
03, 2007 “I am a trout fisherman. One of
my favorite places to fly fish is to hike into the
remote areas of the Chattooga River. I like wild fish
and solitude. I fish in any stream where I can find
such. I have had the experience in other places of
dodging boats and rafts. I have even had some to just
about run over me. There is plenty of water so that
activities can be separated. I have been a life member
of Trout Unlimited since the late 60's or early 70's.
I'm in multiple other conservation organizations, a
life member in most. I hope this answers your questions.
Paul Broun” |
THE
JOY OF SLOW ROADS:
|
 
August 5, 2007
"Many connoisseurs of the highway
are championing the use of slow roads — back
roads with scenery and history — instead of faceless
Interstates." Read
more... |
How
would YOU spend
$25 million?
I-3 isn't only a destructive idea;
it's an expensive idea that will draw needed Federal
and State money away from our real priorities. Building
just a mile of interstate through the mountains could
cost an estimated $25 million dollars!! Bet you have
a better idea for how all this money could be used
in our mountain region or in your neighborhood!
Share your ideas for better, alternative
uses for spending this much money! Go to georgia.sierraclub.org/mile and
tell us: What would you do with a mile of I-3? When
you submit your idea, the site allows you to pass it
along to your friends and invite them to share their
ideas.
|
Brochure
to Circulate! |
 |
 |
|
|
| Check
it out... |
 |
Georgia
Faces a $7.7 Billion Shortfall!
"We have a funding
crisis that if not addressed will turn into a funding
catastrophe."
— Mike Evans, State Transportation Board Chairman
www.whatsthebigidea.us |
| A
bright idea for GADOT? |
 |
Dear
Mr. Evans,
The American people are "going green." Republican
Governor Schwarzenegger leads governors of five
western states in an agreement to dramatically
lower greenhouse gases. Christian evangelicals
flock to the "Creation Care" movement.
Public awareness grows that every one of us needs
to make changes for the future of our children
and grandchildren. One small visual might show
intentions by GADOT to join in this public concern.
How about changing the light bulb on your website, "What's
the Big Idea?" to this energy-saving bulb? |
See
this Christian Science Monitor report on national
and international switches to compact flourescent
bulbs (CFL's):
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0228/p01s03-ussc.html.
There are many alternatives to more asphalt: If every
household replaced just three 60-watt incandescent
light bulbs with CFLs — which lower electric
bills and last 20 times longer — we would reduce
as much U.S. pollution as if we took 3.5 million cars
off the highways! |
|
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IN
THE NEWS
Articles
& Quotes from the
Regional and National Press |
3/27/08, U.S. News & World Report
Mass Transit Systems Have a Hard Time Paying the Bills
"Strong-arming recalcitrant aldermen, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley recently framed the debate this way: Either support a property tax increase to fund the city's cash-strapped transportation authority or "stand up and say, 'I want the CTA to bypass my ward.'" Minutes later, the 40 percent tax increase on city property buyers passed overwhelmingly, 41 to 6. If only it were that easy in every burg where the aging rail lines keep rotting, the fares keep rising, and the trains have to keep rolling." Read more.. |
February, 2008,
Upstate Update, Number 91
Stop I-3 through South Carolina!
"Upstate Forever's Board of Directors voted unanimously on January 15 to
oppose the study of a new interstate corridor (tentatively named I-3) which
would connect Savannah to Knoxville." Read more... |
2/14/08, The Post and Courier
Comment sought on nuclear shipment
"Federal nuclear industry regulators are seeking comments on a plan to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste and debris from Italy through Charleston or New Orleans." Read more... |
2/13/08, Knoxville News Sentinel
Congressman: Importing nuke waste would violate U.S. principles
"U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, has stepped up his opposition to a company’s plan to import tons of nuclear waste from Italy and process it in Oak Ridge." Read more... |
2/11/08, Knoxville News Sentinel
Foreign waste in OR not new
Plant official says pending Italian contract would not differ from past work
"Mike Johnson said the EnergySolutions plant in Oak Ridge has been processing foreign nuclear waste for more than a decade. Lots of it. All told, the Oak Ridge plant - formerly owned by Duratek and other predecessor companies - has probably recycled about 1.5 million tons of radioactive metals from foreign sources since 1996, Johnson said." Read more... |
Feb
08, National I-73/74 Association Newsletter
Graham reaffirms Interstate
73 as top priority
'When it comes to Interstate 73, U.S. Senator Lindsey
Graham is sticking to his guns. In early January, the
Senator’s office was asked how they felt about a
possible study for Interstate 3 in South Carolina. Without
hesitation, Kevin Bishop a spokesman for Sen. Graham said,
“The Senator’s focus is getting funding for
I-73 to Myrtle Beach…I-73 is the top dog in South
Carolina. We’re still a long ways away from that
road, even though we’ve made a lot of progress.”
South Carolina Representative and Chairman of the National
I-73/74 Corridor Association, Alan Clemmons was thrilled
with Sen. Graham’s comment, “The Senator’s
statement on I-73 really does speak volumes for the depth
of his support for the project.”' (See January article
from The State
here.) |
1/21/08,
Anderson Independent-Mail
I-3:
Highway to progress or ruin?
Environmentalists oppose proposed interstate route
"Economic developers and politicians often see highways
as the path to better living, while environmentalists
and conservationists see highways as the road to more
congestion and pollution. The two sides are beginning
to crank up their engines as the proposed Interstate 3
turns from talk to studies, and the possibilities of a
new interstate route become more real." Read
more... |
1/16/08,
Flagpole
Remember This One?: It had been a while since the
proposed Interstate 3 - you know, the one that would
blast through the mountains on its
way from Savannah to Knoxville - had been in the news,
and you might have even been forgiven
if you had figured I-3 for dying a slow death, but the
start of the year brought news that our Congressman,
Paul Broun, has been feeling out a change to I-3’s
route that would push part of the road into South Carolina
and keep it out of Georgia’s mountains. Funny
thing: all the news reports agree that Broun opposed
the road when he was campaigning; now here
he comes implying that with a detour it might not be
so bad after all. At least the environmentalists and
mountain-lovers of the Stop I-3 Coalition [ www.stopi-3.org
] aren’t fooled.
...with permission from fFlagpole, author news
editor Ben Emanuel in City Dope: Athens news and views
section, originally published, Jan. 16, 2008. |
1/15/08,
Anderson Independent Mail
Upstate
Forever opposes Interstate 3 study for South Carolina
'Upstate Forever, one of the leading conservation groups
that helped save Stumphouse Mountain in Oconee County,
took a stance Tuesday against studying an interstate highway
through South Carolina.The proposed Interstate 3 that
was originally planned through northeast Georgia from
Savannah to Knoxville, Tenn., now is being considered
for a portion of South Carolina that could include U.S.
25. “It was a bad idea for Georgia. It’s a
bad idea for South Carolina,” said Brad Wyche, executive
director of Upstate Forever.' Read
more... |
1/15/08,
CNN
Panel:
Increase gas tax to fix roadways
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A special commission is urging the
government to raise federal gasoline taxes by as much
as 40 cents per gallon over five years as part of a sweeping
overhaul designed to ease traffic congestion and repair
the nation's decaying bridges and roads. Read
more... |
1/10/08,
Aiken Standard
Latest
shipment of weapons grade plutonium arrives safely at
SRS
The latest shipment of nuclear weapons grade plutonium
from a national laboratory in California recently arrived
safely at the Savannah River Site, federal officials announced
Monday. Read
more... |
1/9/08,
Independent Mail
Congressman
says interstate plan for north Georgia not economically
feasible
'A new interstate highway through the mountains of North
Georgia would not be economically feasible and environmentally
harmful, according to U.S. Rep. Paul Broun. “(Interstate)
3 as currently proposed is just totally economically not
viable,” said Rep. Broun, R-Ga.' Read
more... |
1/9/08,
Smoky Mountain News
DOT
road hearings have potential for controversy
"A public hearing on dozens of proposed road projects
in the region — including the controversial Southern
Loop in Jackson County, the Siler Road extension in Macon
County, and Corridor K through Swain County — will
be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, outside
Andrews." Read
more... |
1/8/08,
Athens Banner-Herald
Broun
seeks new route for proposed interstate
"An
East Georgia congressman says he will work to push the
route of a proposed Interstate 3 east into South Carolina,
but opposition groups still are against the plan."
Read
more... |
| 2008
News Articles >> |
| 2007
News Articles >> |
| 2006
News Articles >> |
| 2005
News Articles >> |
Special
Video Feature:
Young Tennessean Shares Reasons
to Oppose I-3! |
LETTERS
Letters-to-the-Editor,
Editorial Opinions, & Letters to Stop I-3 |
2/15/08, The Northeast Georgian
Letter to the Editor
Reprinted here with permission from both the author and the publisher.
I-3 Development Issues
I understand that one reason for opposing the construction of I-3 through North Georgia is in response to the health, safety and environmental issues raised by any people living along the route currently used by trucks carrying nuclear waste. We all know that nuclear materials are extremely dangerous and accidents can happen with horrific human and environmental consequences.
This being the case, current and new development along the proposed I-3 corridor should be banned for a safe distance on either side. Otherwise, as aforementioned, we are simply recreating the very same health, safety and environmental problems, 10 years and beyond, down the nuclear waste highway.
Eric Harkness
Sautee-Nacoochee |
Burma
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