Post on 28-Dec-2015
Southern Appalachia
Everybody’s Mountains
Our Home
The Proposed Interstate 3
Would Turn This
Into This
Help Protect Our Home
Stop I-3 before it Gets Started
• August 2005 – the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (SAFETEA-LU) passed by the US House and Senate
• Sponsored by late Charlie Norwood, US Rep. GA District 10 and Senators Chambliss and Iskason
• Provides $1.32 Million to describe steps and estimate funding to construct interstate 3 from Savannah to Knoxville via Augusta
How did the Idea of Interstate 3 Get Started?
Stated Purpose of Proposed I-3:
• For military transport purposes
• To improve the economy of the area
• To honor the Third Infantry Division
But the Military Travels by Air and Sea, Not Highways
Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah Already Served by Four-
lane Highway
Would I-3 Improve Economic Development?
• An interstate would actually degrade economy of the Southern Appalachians
• It would jeopardize recreational resources that businesses depend on
I-3 Would Hurt Tourism
The Interstate Would Hurt Second Home Development
I-3 would Result in Loss of Farm Land
A Case in Point:. • The poorest county in North Carolina is Robeson and has been for years• I-95 runs right through the middle of Robeson County • Many South Carolina counties through which I-95 runs are also poor
Would I-3 be an Effective way to Honor the Third Infantry
Division? • Best done by
supplying them the necessary equipment to do their job safely and by providing benefits to veterans!
Memorial at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning
Quotes From Soldiers In The 3RD Infantry
• "Highways are not memorials“• “It breaks my heart and brings me to
tears”
• “I did not invade Iraq so the government can destroy even more of the natural beauty of my home state."
The Case Against I-3
• Communities would be by-passed economically
• Big-box retailers would destroy local and family businesses
• I-3 would be disastrous to the environment
• An interstate is not needed
• I-3 is not wanted by citizens and their local governments
Communities Would Wither and Local Businesses Would Die
Critical Watersheds Originating in the Southern Appalachians would
be Threatened
Keeping Water Clean Near an Interstate is next to Impossible
Development that Accompanies Highways also
Ruins Water Quality.
Highway development threatens native and endangered species
Interstates Interrupt Feeding and Migration Routes
Priceless Scenery would be Destroyed
Interstates Ruin Mountain Vistas
Historically Significant Places might be destroyed
View of the historic Unicoi Turnpike
Interstate 3 is Un-needed
• Currently, Savannah has two interstates, I-95 and I-16
• The new four-lane Savannah River Parkway from Savannah to Augusta connects these two cities and connects Savannah to I-20.
• The four-laning of Georgia 17 is underway
Savannah to Knoxville by I-95, I-26, I-40 is 419 miles – shorter
than any stated route of I-3
Georgia 17, when four-laned, will adequately serve the area between I-20 and I-85
I-3 is Not Wanted by Citizens and their Local Governments
• The following County Commissions and RPOs have all signed resolutions against Interstate 3 or any similar highway
• Southwestern North Carolina Planning and Economic Development Commission
• Macon County, NC
• Clay County, NC
• Lumpkin County, GA
• Habersham County, GA
• Rabun County, GA
• White County, GA
• Towns County, GA
Thousands Have Petitioned Against this Highway Corridor
They Don’t Want I-3 Either!
The Interstate Would Cost Billions!
• In Madison County, North Carolina, the costs for I-26 were $32 million per mile.
• The lead Project Engineer for I-26 stated that the I-3 would be more technically challenging than I-26
• Land prices and road building prices are constantly rising
We should Spend Wisely
• Each state would have to pay 20 percent of the cost; yet the state DOTs all have serious financial problems
• The Federal Highway Trust Fund is going broke, we have other infrastructure that is crumbling, and we have to prioritize our transportation needs with limited funding sources
WHY EVEN CONSIDER SPENDING BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS BUILDING A SUPER HIGHWAY IN THIS
CORRIDOR?
UNWANTED, UNNEEDED, ENVIRONMENTALLY AND
ECONOMICALLY DISASTROUS!
Let your representatives and senators and the state Departments of Transportation know what you think of this idea!