The North Shore Road controversy will never be settled amicably for all parties involved. That’s because the emotion on all sides of this simmering debate are just too strong. But given all the information now available and the realities of the 21st century, the best option is for the federal government to enter into some kind of settlement with Swain County residents to compensate them for the flooded road and the forced evacuation from their land.

The National Park Service just finished a series of public meetings where it released information on the road’s costs and environmental impacts along with several options available to the government. Those meetings provided a platform for the arguments that have changed little over the past few decades, but they also highlighted another cold fact: the costs of building a road similar to the one flooded are so high there’s little chance it will ever be built. Even if plans are made to go through with construction, lawsuits will either drag on for years or drive the cost up even higher, or both.

The Park Service projects that a 26-mile paved road along the north shore of Lake Fontana will cost $375 million, and a gravel road about $299 million. Many in Swain County say existing roadbeds in the area would make the costs much lower, but it’s hard to imagine it would come in much cheaper. There are 131 streams and creeks that would have to be crossed. Studies reveal that highly acidic Anakeesta rock would be disturbed during construction. The rock releases acids and heavy metals when disturbed, substances that could do severe damage to the fragile ecosystem along the north shore. Building a road through this area while mitigating this potential environmental problem would be very expensive.

Supporting a settlement leads to an uncomfortable position: admitting that the government has lied to the people of Swain County. A road was promised, and the families of those who were pushed out of their communities had every reason to believe the federal government would fulfill its commitment. But now, given that 63 years have passed, even the most ardent road supporter must admit that a different reality exists today.

That strip of land between the spine of the Smokies and Fontana Lake is one of the Eastern United States’ great wild tracts. Even though it was taken from mountain people, it was passed to every citizen in this country by its inclusion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. What land is left in the wild is under all kind of pressures from pollution, development and other stresses. We must take great care in protecting what is left.

Providing Swain County with a cash settlement won’t end this debate, but it will make good on an obligation to compensate those driven from their land. It will also help residents live a better life. In reality, Swain deserves the settlement and a heritage center at the end of the current road. That would serve a dual purpose of compensating the county and telling the story of the flooded and evacuated communities.

The families of those involved in this great debate will retell the story for generations. At this time, though, a resolution is in sight, and at this point supporting a settlement is the difficult but logical choice.