1.6

1.5 Project Setting
Park entrance sign
The project study area, shown in Figure 1-1, is in westem North
Carolina and includes a portion of GSMNP in Swain County and a
portion of the AT in Swain and Graham counties. Both the
GSMNP and the AT are individual units of the national park system
within the NPS. The study area extends from just west of Fontana
Village to the eastern municipal limits of Bryson City, covering an
area of roughly 120,000 acres (ac) (48,562 ha). Fontana Lake
divides the study area into halves to include land south and north of
the lake. The southern limits of the study area are parallel to and
just south of NC 28 and US 19/LTS 74, while the northern limits follow an arc that includes the majoriry of
land transferred in the 1943 Agreement.
To provide the full range of study alternatives and thorough analyses that are required by NEPA, the EIS
study area covers a large expanse of land. Specifically, the inclusion of land south of Fontana Lake is
necessary to evaluate the existing roadway network, the area's transportation needs, and potential access
options across Fontana Lake. The inclusion of rural communities such as Lauada, Almond, Stecoah, and
Bryson City, to name just a few, provides insight on the local population's economy, demographics, and
social values.
1.6 System Linkage
1.6.1 Road Networks
The existing road network services the areas surrounding Fontana Lake and connects Bryson Ciry and
various secondary roads to regions outside the study area. The primary east-west roadways in the study area
include US ] 9, US 74, and NC 28. US 19 is a two-lane facility that goes through downtown Bryson City
before merging with US 74 southwest of town. The merged US 19/LTS 74 is a four-lane, divided facility
with a grass median, which then transitions to a fiv�lane, undivided section west of the Little Tennessee
River. In the study area, NC 28 extends from US 19/US 74 in Swain County to Lake Cheoah in Graham
County.
1.6.2 Railroads
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) services the Bryson City region, connecting Dillsbaro,
Bryson City, and Nantahala. The 53-mi (85-km) line was owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad until 1988,
when it was purchased by the state of North Carolina and leased to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad,
Inc. It is now primarily used for passenger travel as a tourist attraction for the area. No other passenger or
freight service is available in the study area.
1.6.3 Airports
No airports are in the study area. The nearest airport, Macon County Airport, which has one landing strip,
is off NC 28 south of the study area. The nearest major airport, McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville,
Tennessee, is roughly 50 mi (80.5 km) northwest of the study area.
Introduction —1-4
North Shore Road Final Environmental Impact Statement

1.6.4 Bicycles and Pedestrians
There are no North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)-designated bicycle routes within the
study area. However, due to the scenery and recreational characteristics of the study area in proximity to
the AT, the Mountains to Sea Trail, and tbe Blue Ridge Parkway, cyclists, hikers, and pedestrians are a
common sight along some of the roadways within the study area, especially during the summer months.
More information concerning bilcing and hiking trails within GSMNP and the Nantahala National Forest is
included in Section 3.2.5 of this document. Within Bryson City, sidewalks and roadways serve pedestrian
and bicycle traffic. Outside the ciry limits, all roadways are either two-lane rural highways with minimal
shoulders or four-lane freeways, which are not bicycle or pedestrian friendly. No dedicated bicycle lanes
are within the study area.
1.7 Study Issues
Environmental impact topics were identified by the study team and finalized through input from the public
The impact topics that were identified, and analyzed in Chapter 4, include: community, economic, land use,
visitor use and experience, environmental justice, cultural resources, public health and safety, geology,
floodplains, air quality, soundscapes, wetlands (jurisdictional and special aquatic habitats), streams and
lakes, water qualiry, aquatic ecology, vegetation communities, terrestrial wildlife, black bears, migratory
birds, invasive exotics, federally protected species, and visual resources. Other topics with discussions of
effects in Chapter 4 include utilities, hazardous materials, energy, indirect and cumulative effects, private in-
holdings, and sustainabiliry and long-term management.
Topics that were dismissed from further analysis in this EIS were farmlands, relocation, Section 4(�, and
Section 6(�.
Farmlands are protected under the Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981 (7 CFR Part 658) ("the Act"),
which establishes criteria for identifying and considering the effects of Federal programs on the conversion
of farmland to nonagricultural uses. Tbe project study area does not ineet the Act's definition of farmland.
Therefore, the provisions of the Act do not apply to this project.
None of the detailed study alternatives would directly result in relocation impacts. All partial-build and build
alternatives are located within GSMNP. Furthermore, offsite disposa] of pyritic rock would not require
relocation of any residences ar businesses. Potential property acquisitions due to actions undertaken with the
Monetary Settlement would depend on local use of funds.
Section 4( fl of the Department of Transportation Act of l 966, as amended, stipulates that the FHWA will not
approve any program or project which requires the use of publicly owned park land, recreation area, wildlife
or waterfowl refuge, or land of a significant historic site unless there is no feasible and prudent alternative
and all possible planning to minimize harm resulting from such use is included. However, this provision
does not apply to any project for a park road or parkway under Section 204 Federal Lands Highways
Program, of Title 23, USC. Tbe partial-build and build alternatives would be constructed as park roads
under the Federal Lands Highways Program. Therefore, Section 4( fl does not apply.
Introduction —1-5
North Shore Road Final Environmental Impact Statement