By Quin Hillyer at Liberty Headlines;
Sometimes a “road to nowhere” really ought to be completed – or at least paid for.
Especially if the debt is 75 years old.
That seems to be the guiding principle behind a long-awaited settlement formalized June 30, between the U.S. Department of the Interior and Swain County, North Carolina.
The money pays for the uncompleted portion of a once-existing road destroyed by the federal government in 1943 when the area was flooded to build the Fontana Dam.
The dam was built as part of the energy-producing mission of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The original North Shore Road was 30 miles long, but, despite its promises, the federal government rebuilt only 7.2 miles of it.
After tunneling under a portion of a mountain and emerging out the other side, the road… just… stopped.
Even after the settlement, the road still will not be finished, due to environmental concerns, but at least the county can use the money in other ways to help mitigate the inconvenience.
The settlement had been set at $52 million years ago, but the feds were very slow in paying, having forked over just $12.8 million until the Trump Administration took office in 2017.
Local leaders said they felt “jerked around.”
Finally, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pushed out $4 million last year, and then the remaining $35.2 million in one big chunk on June 30.
“Not rebuilding the road has led to a lot of resentment from Swain County residents as they have not been able to access their family homesteads and cemeteries that their ancestors were forced to abandon for the war effort,” reported the Smoky Mountain News…..
[The full article is here.]
