Yesterday's Knoxville News Sentinel had an update on the proposed I-3 project, which would create a $50 billion, 450 mile interstate highway from Savannah, GA, to Knoxville where it would connect to I-75. Here's an AP report. Here is KNS's map of the proposed route.
Read more after the jump...
Environmental groups oppose it because it runs through the wild, undeveloped Southern Appalachians in North Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, skirting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are also concerns about traffic and pollution in Knoxville, where two major U.S. Interstates (I-75 and I-40)already intersect, fed by I-81, another major U.S. Interstate.
Opponents also say there is a hidden nuclear agenda involving shipment of nuclear weapons materials and hazardous nuclear waste between the DOE Savannah River Site and Oak Ridge.
Proponents say it will connect Savannah to the Midwest to improve commerce and stimulate new industrial development.
Neither recent news article mentions an important fact, though. Maybe I'm missing something, but Savannah already has an Interstate highway route all the way to Knoxville by way of I-95, I-26, and I-40. According to MapQuest, the existing, all-Interstate route is only 419 miles, downtown to downtown, as opposed to the $50 billion, 450 mile proposed route.
Not only is I-3 not needed, and not only will it wreck portions of the Southern Appalachian ecosystem, it appears that it is nothing more than a massive $50 billion boondoggle for road builders and land speculators. Why we're spending $1.3 million to study it is beyond me. For more info, see StopI-3.org.
|
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Bravo to Michaela Barnett (3 replies)
- Federal Government sending marketing (campaign) messages? (1 reply)
- Knox SOUP Announces New Name, November 5 Community Dinner, and Call for Project Proposals (1 reply)
- Oconaluftee, Cherokee, Newfound Gap (1 reply)
- Pedestrians be careful, drivers (and pedestrians) not attentive (3 replies)
- Check and Recheck your ballot when voting (5 replies)
- Bernie Sanders vs AI (1 reply)
- SoKno discombobulation continues (2 replies)
- Execution failed!!! (3 replies)
- GOP Senator "deserves the obloquy" (2 replies)
- AI company going public says "existential risks to humanity" (2 replies)
- Michaela Barnett for Congress TN-02 (2 replies)
TN Progressive
- Blount County pausing on housing growth? (BlountViews)
- Tues., Oct. 20, 2026, Free Flu Shots at Blount County Health Dept. (BlountViews)
- View from the Overlook (Whitescreek Journal)
- Alcoa property taxes will probably not go up (BlountViews)
- Smith & Wesson not a good fit for Blount County (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
TN Politics
- Sponsored Commentary: Building connection in divided times (TN Lookout)
- FAA grounds all US flights due to air traffic control issue (TN Lookout)
- Tennessee’s gerrymandered election maps hold up, but not as well as in past cycles (TN Lookout)
- Trump administration pursues a second round in the courts on birthright citizenship (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Senate finance chief takes Tennessee ‘DOGE’ talk with grain of salt (TN Lookout)
- Appeals court: Federal judge must reconsider whether ‘buffer law’ is in effect during media lawsuit (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Vols down Aggies in slobber-knocker (Knox TN Today)
- Faith Along the Way: Royalty (Knox TN Today)
- Two hours left: Make your Tennessee–Texas A&M prediction! (Knox TN Today)
- Maryville edges Oakland as Central, Alcoa and CAK, Grace advance in football playoffs (Knox TN Today)
- Saturday Catch-Up: Six stories worth another look (Knox TN Today)
- Lady Vols roll past Blue Raiders (Knox TN Today)
- Let’s Talk: Outdoors — Smoky Night Lights brings mountain magic to Knoxville (Knox TN Today)
- Good Question! Why are barns red? (Knox TN Today)
- Boo! at the Zoo draws 41,466 guests, up 68% from last year (Knox TN Today)
- Close to Home, Far from Ordinary: Clinton’s small-town charm tells a big story (Knox TN Today)
- Muse Knoxville expansion promises more room for discovery (Knox TN Today)
- Roy Orbison and I (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- Freezing temperatures expected across East Tennessee overnight (WATE)
- Tennessee's CFP hopes stay alive with win at Texas A&M (WATE)
- Travelers in East Tennessee continue to face the effects of the national ground stop (WATE)
- Driver charged after LCSO pursuit reaching over 130 mph ends in crash (WATE)
- Air traffic 'gradually' returning to normal at McGhee Tyson after nationwide ground stop (WATE)
- Campbell County mother receives a free car from Redemptive Automotive Ministries (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- After 7 years, TEDxChattanooga’s organizer passes the baton with final event - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- A monstrous El Niño has arrived. Here’s what it means for where you live. - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Photos: Chattanooga Renaissance Faire - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Affordability - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Microsoft Service Restored After Widespread Outage, Company Says - WSJ (Business)
- Could everything be broken? Grounded jets, Microsoft outage, AI chaos make some wonder - AP News (Business)
- US judge blocks Trump’s plan to renovate historic DC golf course - The Guardian (US News)
- Planes collide at Miami runway crossing a day after national grounding - CNN (Business)
- FAA was warned for years about repair risks leading to nationwide ground stop - The Washington Post (Business)
- FAA was warned for years about repair risks leading to nationwide ground stop - The Washington Post (US News)
- Democrat Kreiss-Tomkins says his successful gubernatorial campaign 'covered every corner' of Alaska - AP News (US News)
- A beloved Oregon woman and her dogs disappear. How her community helped investigators solve the case. - CBS News (US News)
- After Her Baby Was Buried Alive, a Mother’s Painful Question: Why? - The New York Times (US News)
- IRS raises 401(k) contribution limit by $1,000 for 2027 as retirement savings caps increase - Fox Business (Business)
- Bitcoin price analysis: BTC continues to decline Saturday, entering 'deep value zone' - CoinDesk (Business)
- Video: Dangerous waves, biggest in a decade, flood Bay Area streets and threaten homes - San Francisco Chronicle (US News)
- New Orleans port sues tanker owners over cruise ship collision for $1m - BBC (US News)
- SpaceX successfully catches part of Starship rocket on its return to Earth - BBC (Business)
- Elon Musk, other tech execs sign petition calling on Nvidia to reinstate Jensen Huang - TechCrunch (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
Smells like a boondogle
If whoever really feels there's a need for an interstate in East Georgia, a more reasonable alternative is to build one from the coast along the Georgia/South Carolina border to north of Augusta. Then cut through Greenville, SC to Asheville, NC, where traffic can travel on I-40 across the mountains.
No need to build a another concrete monstrosity through the Appalachians.
Can I collect $1.3 million for my money-saving and more-environmentally friendly plan?
Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.
New interstate highway =
New interstate highway = more delicious sprawl sites for the gang of usual suspects.
I gotta say....
An interstate from Knoxville to Savannah might take some trafiic off 75 and 285.
Jesus.
I am just getting caught up on this.
Most of the proposed routes show US-129 being used as an anchor from Pelissippi Parkway all the way through to the GA/SC corner.
See here as a for-instance... (link...)
In any event, it looks like many plans involve putting an interstate right through Alcoa/Maryville.
Others from Cleveland right through to Ducktown and right on through Hiawassee (so much for enjoying the Ocoee or the Chatooga).
Awful, awful stuff.
____________________________
"The iPod was not developed by Baptists in Waco." -- G.K.
Looks Like Shortcut for Haslam to Hilton Head
Looks like a short cut for Big Jim Haslam to Hilton Head Island to his house there.
Thank Goodness!
Thank the good Lord! Up to now, there has been absolutely no way to get to Savannah from Knoxville!
We have had to ford rivers in our Conestoga wagon, board ferries run by unscrupulous operators, and pay questionable tolls to travel through frighteningly dense woods for weeks just to reach our beloved and economically prosperous port of Savannah with our precious cargo of raccoon pelts.
Oh wait; wrong century. We can just use I-75/16 and be there in nine hours.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
I've mentioned this before
I've mentioned this before but it merits another comment....
One of the justifications for this new interstate is defense. I fail to see the logic. If this road is built, it opens up a path for the Yankees directly to Atlanta and Savannah. Last time in 1864 they had to come down I-24 from Nashville and then I-75 thru Chattanooga. East Tennessee is a known region for Union sympathizers also. It would be interesting to see who is really behind this scheme, probably a bunch of carpetbaggers.
There's an even quicker way...
Milo suggested: <<Oh wait; wrong century. We can just use I-75/16 and be there in nine hours.>>
You can get there faster than that if you take I-40 to Asheville then I-26 towards Charleston and, finally I-95 to Savannah. It's about 7 hours by horseless carriage that way. You can proabably get there even faster by this route if you don't particularly care about speeding tickets.
Why?
And we need "to improve commerce and stimulate new industrial development" just WHY???
Besides wrecking what's left of what used to be a lot of paradise, imagine what $50b could do to further domestic clean energy renewables, or toward more environmentally responsible mass transit.
Such stupid and sick ideas at the worst time and with money government doesn't have. This is just short-sighted BIG-ASS gov't.
_________________________________
Never has the left been so right.