The Lakeview Drive (also known as North Shore Road and the Road to Nowhere) is a road, split in two segments, located along the north shore of
Fontana Lake
Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern b ...
, wholly within the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, w ...
. The scenic road, which was never completed, features an unused
road tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
and connects to various hiking and
horse riding
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
trails in the area.
Route description
Lakeview Drive West is the shorter road segment; located at
Fontana Dam
Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain County, North Carolina, Swain and Graham County, North Carolina, Graham counties, North Carolina, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which ...
, the road hugs the north-western shore of
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national ...
section of
Fontana Lake
Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern b ...
before ending at a parking area. Both the
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...
and Benton MacKaye Trail overlap this road segment.
Lakeview Drive East, located near
Bryson City
Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina in the United States. The population was 1558 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Swain County.
Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded a ...
, is a road from Fontana Road (SR 1364) to a parking area, located less than a from the road tunnel. The road, over above the
Tuckasegee River
The Tuckasegee River (variant spellings include Tuckaseegee and Tuckaseigee) flows entirely within western North Carolina. It begins its course in Jackson County above Cullowhee at the confluence of Panthertown and Greenland creeks.
It flows ...
section of Fontana Lake, curves along Mine Mountain and Buzzardroost Mountain before crossing over Noland Creek and then ending at the edge of Tunnel Ridge. Stone facades on bridges and wooden rails along it shoulders appears similar to the
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...
. The speed limit along the road is .
Lakeshore Trail connects both segments of Lakeview Drive by following the proposed routing of the road. The trail includes the half-mile portion of road and tunnel that was never opened for vehicles. The Lakeshore Trail connects with other trails that cross-cross the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and has several campsites. Some portions of the trail follow old
NC 288, where hikers may see abandoned automobiles from 1920's-1930's and a bridge at Lands Creek during the winter months, when lake levels are low.
History
The story of Lakeview Drive begins on July 30, 1943, when the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...
(TVA), the state of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
,
Swain County and the
Department of the Interior (DOI) entered into an agreement that called for:
# TVA to pay $400,000 to the county as compensation for the flooding of North Carolina Highway 288.
# TVA to buy the , displacing the residents, and to transfer the land to the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
(NPS) as addition to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
# DOI, contingent upon appropriation of all necessary funds, to build a replacement park road around the north side of
Fontana Lake
Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern b ...
.
In 1944, Fontana Dam was completed and Fontana Lake was formed; also by this time, the TVA had fulfilled all its obligations under the agreement. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, construction began on the western segment, completed in 1948. In 1958, North Carolina completed work on Fontana Road (SR 1364), which ends at the National Park boundary. In 1960, construction began on the eastern segment, where crews quickly ran into unstable rock. In 1962, after the first was nearly completed, a letter from the
Bureau of Public Roads
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
asked
Conrad L. Wirth, then director of the NPS, to "seriously reconsider" the plan and said that the road would become costly with damage to the area's landscape. Construction was halted by 1971, after the completion of the road tunnel and Noland Creek bridge. After $4.1 million spent on the road, environmental concerns became a pressing matter because of exposed
Anakeesta rock
Charlies Bunion is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of the Southeastern United States, characterized by a large boulder-like protrusion just below the summit on its otherwise-sheer northern face. The mountain is a rare instance of a bare- ...
and the possibility that the mild acid that comes from the rock could leak into nearby streams, damaging plants and fish.
Without the road, starting in the late 1970s, the National Park Service began providing transportation to families to visit cemeteries to which access was cut off. A
pontoon boat
A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons
A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons (also called ''tubes'') contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted w ...
, provided by the Park Service, must cross Fontana Lake. The families started the North Shore Cemetery Association and continue to make occasional visits for "decoration days" on which the families clean up the cemeteries and hold services.
In 1983, a lawsuit brought by a group of Swain County residents to force the NPS to resume construction ended when the
Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit concluded that the 1943 agreement to construct the road had not been breached by DOI as Congress had not appropriated funds for the completion of the road. The court also held that DOI was under no obligation to seek further appropriations for the completion of the road.
Things remained idle until 2001, when NC Representative
Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to:
* Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina
* Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...
inserted $16 million into the Federal Highway Administration appropriation to resume work on the road. An
Environmental impact statement (EIS) was soon performed to evaluate a range of alternatives that could resolve the DOI's obligations under the 1943 agreement. The EIS resulted in a NPS
Record of Decision (ROD) on December 28, 2007 that payment of a monetary settlement to Swain County, in lieu of further construction, was the alternative that would best protect the resources of the park. Negotiations soon followed, which were aided by NC Representative
Heath Shuler
Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American businessman, former NFL quarterback, and former U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during ...
and TN Senator
Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from ...
.
On February 6, 2010, all signatories met in
Bryson City
Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina in the United States. The population was 1558 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Swain County.
Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded a ...
and executed a new agreement that explicitly extinguished the 1943 agreement. It called for a cash settlement of $52 million, paid to Swain County, by on or before December 31, 2020. Upon complete settlement, all remaining obligations that remain are considered fulfilled.
Swain County had received $12.8 million so far and used interest on that money for county needs. In April 2016, Swain County commissioners filed a lawsuit against the federal government asking for the remaining $29.2 million still owed to the county. The federal government takes the position that the agreement does not require payment until 2020.
On April 24, 2017, Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby of the
U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissed the lawsuit but the county has asked for reconsideration.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...
released $4 million on September 7, 2017. The final installment of $35.2 million was paid on June 29, 2018. However, under the 2010 agreement, the money was deposited with the
state treasurer's office.
Swain County can spend only the
interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
the money earns.
Junction list
See also
*
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...
*
Cherohala Skyway
The Cherohala Skyway is a National Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway that connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina in the southeastern United States. Its name is a portmanteau of Cherokee and Nantahala, ...
*
Foothills Parkway
*
Gatlinburg Bypass
*
Newfound Gap Road
Newfound Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state l ...
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Transportation in Swain County, North Carolina
Protected areas of Swain County, North Carolina
Roads in North Carolina