At the end of its second hour-long town hall meeting, the Rabun County Board of Commissioners declared unanimous opposition to a proposed Interstate 3 being routed through the county.

Those in the packed courtroom, many wearing badges with I-3 circled in red and a slash diagonally cutting through the circle, gave commissioners a standing ovation.

As proposed, I-3 follows existing roads and links towns between Savannah and Knoxville, Tenn., including Toccoa and Hiawassee.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood and Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson introduced bills requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct feasibility and construction cost studies for proposed Interstates 3 and 14. The reports are expected by year's end.

While the projected route for I-3 bypasses Rabun County, many people are concerned that Highway 441, currently being widened to Clayton's south city limits, might present a viable alternative route. Plans also call for the highway to be widened to the North Carolina state line.

"Many citizens are horrified," Lucy Ezzard Bramlett told commissioners.

Bramlett, spokeswoman of the Rabun County chapter of Stop I-3, estimated the cost for building the highway at $25 million per mile, with a total cost "over $50 billion."

"The damage to the environment could be even more expensive," she said, citing loss of wildlife habitat. "Soil and silt runoff would destroy our streams."

Another concern would be trucks carrying nuclear waste on the highway. Frequent foggy conditions in the area make the likelihood of an accident inevitable, Bramlett said.

Chuck Mashburn also expressed concerns about Atlanta's traffic concerns being dumped in the mountains.

"This is a traffic problem they wish to ship to the mountains," he said.

Construction of the interstates would benefit the bottom lines of major corporations, with "citizens bearing the tax burden," Mashburn said.

Joe Gatins advised commissioners to "get informed, get involved and become leaders" against the proposed highway. He asked commissioners to appoint one of their own to speak out against the highway at a Georgia Department of Transportation open house set for July 14. He also asked for commissioners to pass a resolution against the interstate.

In winding up the meeting, Commission Chairman Eston Melton said, "We are unanimously with you. We are to a person opposed to this interstate."

Melton also provided a quick reality check. "It would be nice if we had the power to stop this thing," he said. Commissioners are limited in their jurisdiction, and they are powerless to stand in the way. He did promise to be "diligent and resourceful" in trying to stop construction of the interstate.

Melton said he previously had planned a trip to Washington, D.C., and has now scheduled meetings with Isakson, Chambliss and Norwood.

Melton said he "will tell them what I think about what they are trying to do. I will be forceful and to the point."

Commissioner Pete Cleaveland noted that Rabun County was "not a logistics hub. I don't see it bringing a lot of jobs here."

Instead, the highway would "wreck the area" and the county would "lose the jobs that we have," Cleaveland said.

Commissioners Virgil Kilby, Mary Elizabeth Law and Pat Marcellino Sr. also voiced their opposition to I-3.

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