THE END OF DEALS GAP??!!

[burns]

I got this out of the A.B.A.T.E magazine.

Have you hd the pleasure of visting Deals Gap and riding the dragon's tail? This coveted strecch of us 129 in the somkey mountains crosses fron N.C. to Tenn. state line and has 318 curves in 11 miles. The areas surrounding it has become mecca to bikers. There is a noticeable increase og motorcycle tourist and related business as each year passes. If you have not yet been ther you may wish to plan a trip soon, as some legislators in Washington D.C have plans of replacing it with interstate 3.
The prooosed corridor of I-3 would begin in Savannah and end in Knoxville. The prosed corrider would past through N.C. along NC 29 and US 64 to Murphy. the freeway would then follow US 19-129 to western edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and continue to follow US 129- to I-40 and I-75 just west of Knoxville.
This route would not only destory miles of secnic hwys. but would also negatively impact a botanical paradise. The construction of this proposed interstatewould likely be wrought with landslides ans cost overruns, I would suggest that the federal dollars slated for this project would be better spent on Katrina recovery rather than this pork project.

quick someone put a spotted owl there!

[SUM650]

This is just one of those rumors that just wont go away. I cannot believe it. It's been circulating for at least a decade. You name any motorcycle forum and this pops up at least once a year. Go to tail of the dragon web site and you will find more that enough info that foils these rumors. Put it this way, I went to deals gap 4 years ago thinking that was the last year. Some say that Tennessee people are a little slow. I say they aren't dumb. Plowing a hwy right through the Smokey Mountain, killing off several endangered species, and virtually killing the southeastern Tennessee tourism economy. Can you just imagine all of the groups that the North Carolina and Tennessee government would have to go through to get something like this done? I can just see all of the tree huggers and animal rights activist now. Don’t even mention the local business folk who lively hood depend on the tourism business. There are several versions of this story going around, depending on which web site you go to. Here is a short exurb from www.tailofthedragon.com web site.

Some rumors about the Dragon's future. The first involves a proposed Interstate that will follow US129 from Robbinsville to Knoxville. This is virtually impossible because of various endangered species that exist in the area and the fact that US129 ROW borders the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, a hands off area for any such projects. Another new rumor has the road being shut-down to all but foot and bicycle use.

[burns]

WOW! I did not know this was going around that long. It would suck for it to happen. I can not stand the tree huggers and the EPA! but if this ever gets moving I do hope they stop it. For the reasons Barry said it won't happen I do think it is all talk.

[Nash]

They have had a meeting about I-3 and the government wants this interstate because 'they' say it will relieve traffic in Atlanta. But looking closer, it looks like they want a more direct route from Savannah to East Tennessee, the home of TVA. That means transporting nuclear waste and products would save the government in the long run if this highway was built.

Even if it does get approved, it could take up to 20 years to officially close the Gap. It is a possibility this could happen but the government will be in for a tough fight.

[SUM650]

I'm going to have a second home up there so I will be fighting it too. I love eastern Tennesse. Are you back in town Nash?

[Nash]

Tomorrow!!