By Cliff Hightower

Staff Writer

Environmentalists in Georgia and North Carolina said Monday the proposed interstate from Savannah, Ga., to Knoxville remains a threat to the region, even if it skirts the mountains.

The proposed road, called "Interstate 3" or I-3 for short, has not been designated as an interstate, but has been proposed as one, officials said. U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., said this week the route of the highway could pass the Northeast Georgia mountains and instead head for Greenville, S.C.

Holly Demuth, executive director of the Stop I-3 Coalition, said Monday that despite the change, the road could still harm the region by spurring more residential development.

The Stop I-3 Coalition also opposes improvements or widening of U.S. Highway 64, or Corridor K, through the Ocoee Gorge in Tennessee, between Chattanooga and the North Carolina border.

"If it (Interstate 3) comes up the proposed route, it would have a tremendous impact on Corridor K," she said.

Ms. Demuth said allowing one of the routes strengthens the argument for the other.

The late U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., got Congress to earmark $1.3 million for a study of building Interstate 3. Groups that feared the highway would harm north Georgia's trees and landscape protested.

During his election campaign, Rep. Paul Broun, who succeeded Rep. Norwood, wrote an e-mail assuring the conservation group Trout Unlimited that he opposed the project. The group's leader, Doug Adams, says Mr. Broun instead proposed work on Georgia Route 17, which would not impact pristine fisheries in North Georgia.

Rep. Broun said he has since learned how important the highway could be to Augusta and Savannah, and said he's trying to get a route that would avoid the Georgia mountains.

John Kennedy, spokesman for Rep. Broun, said Monday the congressman wants to modify language in the existing proposal. Rep. Broun said the current route is too costly and he does not like the environmental impact on the Georgia mountains, Mr. Kennedy said.

"He doesn't want the government to lock itself into a position," Mr. Kennedy said.

Wayne Jenkins, executive director of Georgia Forest Watch, said Monday he could not see the need for an interstate from Savannah to Augusta, Ga., to Knoxville.

"We certainly don't need it through a national forest," he said. "That's our position."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

E-mail Cliff Hightower at chightower@timesfreepress.com