Sanity wrote:
....

They had a choice of routing it through French Broad River gorge which
was a better and safer route or Pidgeon Forge Gorge which routed all the
traffic through touristy Gatlinburg and Pidgeon Forge shopping. The
politicians from Gatlinburg and Pidgeon Forge won out against the
recommendations of the engineers and the interstate highway was built in
one of the worst areas for rockslides. Isn't business and politics
wonderful?

I doesn't come particularly close to either--it's 40 miles or
thereabouts from nearest point and only 5 miles between the old 321
intersection and the Cosby exit now so it really wouldn't have made much
difference unless ran along I81 towards JC before making the cutoff
instead of the split being where it is. To best of my recollection
while still in Lynchburg driving thru before 81 was finished as well
they had already picked to follow 11E w/ it so it only made since to
split at the point old US 40 and 11 diverged after they crossed the
river east of K-town before Newport.

My understanding was that what argument there was came mostly from
Asheville that didn't want bypassed if it went north and then straight
on to Greensboro/Raleigh leaving them high and dry...

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