About 250 people showed up Tuesday night at White County High School to learn more about a proposed interstate highway through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

President Bush signed a federal transportation bill Aug. 10 that allocates $1.3 million for a feasibility study on Interstate 3, a hypothetical route that would link Savannah to Knoxville, Tenn., by cutting across North Georgia.

The meeting was organized by the Stop I-3 coalition, a partnership of grassroots groups in Northeast Georgia, East Tennessee and the western Carolinas. Coalition leaders earlier said the event would allow the public to "hear all sides of the issue."

But none of the panelists spoke in favor of the interstate. Many cars in the parking lot sported "Stop I-3" bumper stickers, and statements opposing the road were met with a chorus of cheers and "amens."

Stop I-3 Chairwoman Elizabeth Wells said all of North Georgia's local, state and national politicians had been invited to speak, but most were no-shows.

Empty chairs on the auditorium stage drew attention to the absences of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, who, along with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, sponsored the bill for the feasibility study.

Wells said the politicians were asked to send a representative if they could not attend, and if they could not send anyone, they were invited to submit a statement.

"They refused," she said. "It makes me very sad."

She did, however, read a letter from Isakson.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that no routes have been selected," Isakson wrote. "... I look forward to seeing the results of this study."

Aside from White County's three commissioners, state Rep. Charles Jenkins was the only politician who accepted the invitation to speak.

"From day one, I've been opposed to this thing," said Jenkins, who represents Towns and part of White counties. "We don't know where the road is going to go. I don't think anybody does. We do know that it could shift 50 miles in either direction.

"They're saying, 'wait until the study is done before you voice your opinion.' Don't believe that. Tell them up front what you want."

Jenkins then took a swipe at his absent colleagues. "If a representative doesn't have the nerve to stand up and state their position, they don't deserve the job," he said.

Wells said no one has answered the group's most vexing questions.

"Who wants this interstate, and why?" she asked. "And how did the funding go from $400,000 the day before the bill was passed to $1.3 million the following day?"

John Clarke, Stop I-3 coordinator for North Carolina, voiced a possibility on which many have speculated.

"The new energy bill calls for increased nuclear activity at the Savannah River site and Oak Ridge," he said, referring to nuclear reactors on the Georgia-South Carolina line and East Tennessee.

"Materials will need to be transported between the two sites. I don't think it's an accident that this interstate is being proposed right now."

Rabun County resident Lucy Bartlett said it sounds like a recipe for disaster.

"Safety must be a consideration," she said. "The combination of heavy trucks and the almost nightly fogs we have in the mountains could be deadly."

Others discussed the potential environmental impact of the road project.

"The incredible biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians is one of the great wonders of the planet," said Larry Winslett, a Dahlonega resident and Sierra Club coordinator. "The other great contribution of these mountains is water. It's the lifeblood of many places, including Atlanta."

Winslett scoffed at a recent statement by a Norwood spokesman that the I-3 project actually could improve the environment by dispersing air pollution.

"This is not a solution to Atlanta's traffic problem," Winslett said. "It's not going to improve air quality in Atlanta. It's just going to make it worse up here."

Beyond the environmental, cultural and historical impacts, several speakers pointed out that building an interstate through rugged mountains would be extremely expensive, and fiscally irresponsible.

"With record national budget deficits, is this where we should be spending this kind of money?" Winslett asked.

E-mail: dgilbert@gainesvilletimes.com

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