Both state and national elected leaders from Western North Carolina are expressing reservations about building a new interstate through the mountains.

N.C. Sen. John Snow, D-Murphy, and N.C. Rep. Roger West, R-Marble, have both questioned the idea of a new interstate through the counties they represent.

“To be quite honest with you, I would just as soon it go somewhere else,” Snow said. “I don’t think we need it.”

Both Snow and West said they don’t think the majority of their constituents will support it.

“A lot of people are coming here now and moving here now because we are the way we are,” Snow said. “You think about the beauty we have here. Then when you open it up, here you have everybody running up from Atlanta. We’ll be flooded with people. Why should we be overrun with hordes of people and traffic so they can get to Knoxville quicker?”

Snow said an interstate — carving a swath the length of a football field across the mountains — is incongruous with both state and federal initiatives to promote heritage tourism.

Snow said the economic advantages of the Interstate could be achieved instead by the completion of Corridor K, a long-standing proposal that would create a four-lane divided highway running diagonally — southwest to northeast — through the far western counties.

Only a few sections of Corridor K are lacking. U.S. 64 from Murphy to Andrews is already a four-lane. U.S. 74 is already a four-lane from Bryson City to Interstate 40 north of Waynesville. The primary missing section is a twisty, slow two-lane through the Nantahala Gorge. Corridor K proposes a new route bypassing the Nantahala Gorge to the west, swinging through Stecoah. The recent widening of U.S. 28 north of Robbinsville along the eastern shore of Lake Fontana is part of the Corridor K grand plan.

West agreed.

“My opinion right now is I don’t think we need the road (I-3). We’ve got Corridor K, which is a vital link for Western North Carolina,” West said. “Until we do that, I would oppose any other plans for another four lane.”

West said building a new road over the mountain between Robbinsville and Andrews for Corridor K is controversial but necessary.

“I know it would mess up things through there, but it is a vital link,” West said. “That would be a throughfare from Atlanta all over Western North Carolina. To me, that’s the greatest need we’ve got. We don’t need I-3.”

U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard, has also expressed reservations.

“Congressman Taylor’s position is that until that study is done and we get some sort of idea of what the cost might be, it’s really hard to say whether he will support it or not,” said Deborah Potter, a spokesperson who works in Taylor’s Asheville office. “The cost of building an interstate highway is enormous, so that will be a big factor.”

While early in the process, so far there has not been an outpouring of support emanating from mountain communities in the vicinity of the proposed route, Potter said.

“No county commissioners have come to the congressman saying ‘Hey, we really want this thing,’” said Potter, citing that as a major factor in Taylor’s ultimate decision. “Most important is for him to get reaction from people in the far western communities that would be impacted.”

Taylor was even more candid when responding to a Hayesville resident who sent Taylor an email expressing concern over I-3 two weeks ago. (The Smoky Mountain News verified with Taylor’s office that the reply email quoted below originated from the congressman’s office.)

“I always appreciate hearing from constituents and greatly benefit from knowing their views,” the reply email began.

“Like you, I am concerned about the route chosen for the study. While I cannot speak for the route to be used in Georgia or in Tennessee, I do believe that it would be extremely difficult for such a massive project to be completed in North Carolina. From a practical standpoint, it would be exceedingly expensive to build such a route through our mountains and I am concerned about the environmental effects such a project would carry,” the reply email stated, citing the path along N.C. 129 as most problematic.

“On one side of 129 is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park while on the other side of the road there are often steep drop-offs. I hope that officials at USDOT will see the difficulty in commencing such a project in our area,”

“As this process continues I certainly will monitor any changes in proposed routes and I will also continue to collect input from the citizens of Western North Carolina,” the email concluded.