Group against Savannah-Knoxville interstate launches petition

ATLANTA Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A group opposed to a proposed interstate highway from Savannah to Knoxville, Tenn., launched a petition drive on Tuesday in an effort to persuade elected officials to drop the plan.

“It’s time to show state and federal officials that their constituents in Southern Appalachia do not want or need this ruinous road,” Elizabeth Wells, chair of the Stop I-3 Coalition, said in a news release.

The coalition claims county chapters and supporters in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, whose aim “is to protect the mountains, rivers, lakes and forests for this and future generations.”

Congress approved a $400,000 study for the proposed Interstate 3 in May. Its sponsor, U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Evans, said the highway could link military bases in the corridor and help balance the South’s infrastructure with other regions of the country.

Norwwood also proposed another interstate, I-14, which would stretch from Augusta through middle Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to the banks of the Mississippi River.

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On the Net: http://www.StopI-3.org